Tinora 49 Paulding 46 F/OT

HOLLAND – Second verse, same as the first. As ESPN’s Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast, my friend.”

Tinora and Paulding made the long trip north to meet in the Sectional Semi-Finals at Springfield High School. The last time these two teams saw each other less than three weeks ago, the Tinora Rams watched on as the Paulding Panthers celebrated a GMC Championship with a 51-29 victory. That contest saw Paulding race out to a 13-0 lead, on the way to a 16-1 lead after one quarter.

Fast-forward to the current day, neither team came into the contest setting the world on fire, the Rams dropped four of five while Paulding lost three of five after the GMC clinching win.

The Rams and Panthers battled evenly through the first quarter, with Paulding exiting with a 12-10 lead. Paulding’s Casey Agler was a threat to score each time he touched the ball, bucketing seven of his nine first half points.

In the second stanza, Paulding would extend their lead to as many as eight, 19-11, on an Ethan Foltz bucket.

The Panthers defense would hold Tinora’s leading scorer Luke Harris, 18 ppg, to just six first half points.

The Panthers Nick Manz would nail a three that would give Paulding a 24-15 lead with 60 seconds left in the first half.

Tinora’s Eli Plassman would drain a three right before the first half buzzer, cutting the Panthers lead to 24-18 at the half.

In the second half, the Rams defense would tighten up the defense on the hot hand of Paulding’s Casey Angler, Angler would score just two points in the second half.

The third quarter saw Tinora ride the teeter-totter, staying even with the Panthers much of the quarter. Tinora cut the Panthers lead to one halfway through the quarter.

Paulding would exit with the same six point lead they had at the half, 35-29. Luke Harris of the Rams with another buzzer beater, draining a three at the buzzer.

The fourth quarter was a heck of a battle. Tinora opened with back to back baskets by Homier and Harris, cutting the Panthers lead to 37-34.

The Rams would finally take the lead over the Panthers on a deep left corner three by senior Eli Plassman, 39-37 with just under four minutes to play. Tinora outscored Paulding 10-2 to start the fourth quarter.

Tinora would lead by as many as four, 41-37 on two free throws by Cole Anders at the 3:53 mark in the fourth quarter.

Paulding would cut the Rams lead to two on two free throws by Pauling’s Nick Manz, 41-38 at the two-minute mark.

Tinora would hold the lead until Agler tied the game on a runner with 1:37 remaining, tying the game at 41-41. The Rams fouled on the shot, his free throw was no good, the game remained tied.

The Rams were holding for the final shot with 45 seconds remaining, however Paulding came up with a steal with 25 seconds remaining,

The Panthers would have a great look with an open shot at the buzzer, it would not fall, the teams headed to OT tied at 41-41.

In the four-minute OT period, the Panther would jump out to a 46-41 lead on five clutch free throws by Ethan Foltz, and Luke Zartman.

The Rams struggled to score in the first four minutes, as Paulding looked to be on their way to a Friday Night Sectional Final.

Paulding passed up several wide open layups trying to kill the clock in the last 70 seconds.

Luke Harris would nail an NBA three with 28 seconds remaining, cutting the Panthers lead to 46-44.

Trying to beat the tight Rams defense on an inbounds play, Paulding threw a football pass deep into the Rams paint, the result would be a Paulding turnover with 25 seconds remaining.

Owen Ackerman would drive and score with 10 seconds remaining, tying the game at 46-46. Ackerman was fouled on the play. After a Panthers timeout, Ackerman would calmly step to the line, nailing the free throw, giving the Rams their first lead 47-46.

The Panthers would not use a timeout, instead driving to the basket, missing a baseline runner with two seconds remaining. Tinora’s Harris would grab the loose ball with .7 seconds remaining, he was fouled and would nail both free throws, giving the Rams an improbable 49-46 lead.

Tinora’s Gavin Eckert would knock the final Paulding desperation pass away, giving the Rams a thrilling 49-46 win.