Palestine avenges only loss of season

Springfield (8-5, 6-3) didn't have a good night at the free throw line.
By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
EAST PALESTINE -- Springfield's Dane Dobson could only watch in agony from the bench after fouling out in the waning seconds of overtime against East Palestine in a key Inter Tri-County League Tier One contest on Friday.
The senior guard, who sent the game into overtime with an incredible 3-point shot at the buzzer in regulation, sat helpless with his head in his lap, as his team set up another final shot that would give the Tigers a chance to send the game into a second overtime.
Off the mark
This time Nathan Schuler's 3-point attempt was off the mark for Springfield and the Bulldogs could breathe a little easier at the Top of the ITCL Tier One standings with a 67-64 victory before a standing room crowd at East Palestine.
The win avenged the Bulldogs' only loss of the season, which came earlier this year at the hands of the Tigers and keeps East Palestine (10-1, 7-1) atop the ITCL standings.
"I give [Springfield] a heck of a lot of credit," East Palestine coach Tom Bingham said. "Dobson hit one heck of a shot to send the game into overtime. He was leaning and falling -- that was a heck of a shot.
"But I thought our kids kept our composure in overtime because Springfield had all the momentum up four points," Bingham said. "But we didn't quit."
Jake Harvey, who scored 18 points for the Bulldogs, hit a big 3-pointer with 2:34 left in overtime to cut the Springfield lead to 62-61 and that seemed to get the Bulldogs back on the right track.
Dan Hanolt hit three free throws on the Bulldogs next two possessions to give East Palestine a 64-62 lead, but Springfield's Corey Cunningham tied the game on a layup at 64-64 with 21 seconds left.
Hanolt finished with a game-high 22 points.
Decided by free throws
A free throw by Nick DiCello and two more by Hanolt gave the Bulldogs a 67-64 lead and Springfield's Grant Spaite called a timeout with 16.2 seconds left to set up Schuler's attempt to tie the game.
"It was a shame that Dane [Dobson] was sitting on the bench in the last few seconds," Spaite said. "Maybe we could have pulled it out. He's hit so many big shots for us in his career.
"I'm very proud of my guys' effort," Spaite said. "It was basically five guys running around out there full tilt to get us back in this game."
Bingham told his team that they just had to keep playing after Springfield came back from a five-point deficit in the final 1:24 of regulation to tie the game.
"What else could I tell them but to keep playing?" Bingham said. "That's what these kids do. They keep playing."
The Tigers (8-5, 6-3) were hoping to pull even with the Bulldogs at the top of the standings with a win but didn't have a good night at the free throw line.
Springfield made just 6 of 14 foul shots while the Bulldogs were 19 of 30.
Sophomore Todd Kibby led the Tigers in scoring with 22 points and 11 rebounds while Dobson made six 3-pointers and a free throw for 19 points.