Loyal Greyhounds lose 1st game of season in overtime

By Harry Toufar The Loyal boys held on to their spot at the top of the Cloverbelt Conference—East but met their match when they took on the Owen-Withee Blackhawks at home last Thursday, eventually taking a loss to another fierce competitor.

Owen-Withee (OW) struck first with a bucket two minutes into the game. Bryce Deegan tied it with a bucket, but the Blackhawks countered with a 3-pointer to go up 5-2. The Greyhounds quickly recovered, running off nine unanswered points. Deegan scored again and Parker Smith made one of two free throws to knot the game at five apiece. Cain Toufar was good on both his free throws and followed that up with a 2-pointer. Smith hit again for two.

Down by six points, OW was forced into a timeout with 11:18 remaining on the clock. Two OW buckets shaved four points off the difference, but Reed Stieglitz made a 2-pointer to send Loyal up by four. OW made a basket and two free throws to create the third tie of the first half. Deegan scored on an offensive rebound, but OW ran off five points to take a 3-point lead. Stieglitz and Toufar each scored, giving the Hounds a 1-point lead. OW scored again to retake the lead. Stieglitz made one of two free throws, knotting the score at 20 heading into the locker room.

The second half was nip and tuck for the whole half. Hunter Walter scored first for the Hounds, but OW was not going to go away, as they tossed in a 2-pointer and a 3-pointer to go up by three. Loyal forged its way back into the lead, as Stieglitz made a 2-pointer and hit from long range. Walter scored again, lifting his team to a 4-point advantage. OW stayed with the Hounds as they hit for two points. Rhett Lamovec entered the scoring column with a 2-pointer to put his team back up by four. OW was 4-4 from the line to tie it up once again. Walter was starting to assert himself, as he went inside for another basket. The Blackhawks drew even with a bucket. Carson Prein made a basket and one of two free throws, pushing the Hounds on top once again. Not to be denied, OW came back to tie it again at 37-37. Again, Walter stepped up by making a basket and free throw. OW took the lead with a free throw and 3-pointer. Stieglitz scored twice from the charity stripe and Walter scored again, putting the Hounds up by three with 3:08 remaining. OW

Please see Loyal Greyhounds, page 15

CHEYENNE THOMAS//STAFF PHOTO Loyal Greyhounds,

from p. 14

was able to score seven points as the game wound down, while Loyal was able to put four points on the board via a Deegan basket and another Walter free throw.

Leading by two points, Loyal had the ball, but OW caused a tie ball with possession going to the Blackhawks. With 5.9 ticks left on the clock, Dominic Sherwood, who had been a thorn in Loyal’s side all night, scored off an offensive rebound to tie it at 48. The Hounds got the ball down the court but could not get a decent shot off, sending the game into overtime.

In the extra period, Prein made two free throws, putting the Hounds up by two. Sherwood scored again, bringing his team even. Stieglitz drained two free throws to put Loyal up by two. OW tied it once more. As the clock was winding down, Sherwood drove to the basket and was fouled. He calmly sank both his free throws, giving the Blackhawks a 54-52 lead with 3.8 seconds left. Loyal took a timeout to set a last shot. Once the clock started again, Toufar threw a pass the length of the court that ricocheted off some players in the direction of Stieglitz, who had to hurry a shot that was off the mark, sending the Greyhounds to their first defeat. As of Monday, they were 11-1 on the season, 5-1 in conference play.

The game was foul-infested, as 38 were called between the two teams. Loyal made 15 of 22 free throws while OW made 13 of 22. The Hounds also made two more 2-pointers than OW. The real difference was in 3-point land. A scrappy Blackhawk defense held Loyal to one 3-pointer while they made three.

Stieglitz led the Hounds in scoring, with 15 points, making three 2-pointers, a 3-pointer, and six of eight free throws. Walter had a yeoman second half, scoring 10 of his 12 points then. Deegan added eight points on four baskets. Toufar tallied six points, making two baskets and both his free throws. He also added five blocked shots on defense. Prein scored six points, with a 2-pointer and making four of five free throws. Smith added three, with a basket and a free throw. Lamovec rounded out the scoring with two points.

Loyal was supposed to face Greenwood on Tuesday to finish the first half of their schedule, but that game was cancelled due to school being cancelled for extreme cold. The Greyhounds will host Colby on Friday and then play at Abbotsford on Saturday. That game will start at 3 p.m.

CHEYENNE THOMAS//STAFF PHOTO