they visit Neillsville on Tuesday ….

they visit Neillsville on Tuesday and host Loyal on Jan. 10.

Triple OT win Gilman’s process of learning to win took a big step forward Friday when the Pirates found a way to win a game they were on the verge of losing several times, taking a 75-66 triple-overtime thriller at Bruce.

The Pirates led throughout the first half and led by 10 early in the second half, but Bruce rallied to lead by seven with less than three minutes to go in regulation.

Gilman didn’t quit and got tying 3pointers from Joey Syryczuk and Pockat in the last 43 seconds to send the game to overtime. The Pirates got five points from Ustianowski in the last 7.2 seconds of the first overtime, including a 15-foot bank shot at the buzzer, a game-tying shot from Pockat with nine seconds left in the second overtime and then finally won it by outscoring the Red Raiders 9-0 in the third overtime.

Pockat set a new personal scoring best with 27 points, all but six of which were scored after halftime. Ustianowski had a 19-point, 11-rebound double-double and Joey Syryczuk also had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Gilman executed well early against Bruce’s 1-3-1 zone, jumping out to a 12-4 lead following a 3-pointer from Pockat. Another Pockat 3 made it 20-12, Tony Syryczuk took one to the rim and scored for a 24-16 lead and Grunseth’s 3-pointer, his only bucket of the night, made it 27-20 before the Pirates settled for a 29-22 halftime lead.

Halida scored all five of his points in a quick spurt to give Gilman a 36-26 lead and two straight Ustianowski baskets made it 40-31 four minutes in, but a 3pointer from Spencer Hautamaki gave Bruce the spark it needed to make a run. A three-point play by Ryder Rodewald gave Bruce its first lead of the game at 41-40 with 10:38 left. Pockat’s 3-ball tied the game at 43-43, but Bruce went on an 11-4 run from there to lead 54-47 following a Jace Sahlin free throw with 3:32 left.

Tony Syryczuk cut through the Bruce defense and scored off an inbound pass from Pockat with 2:25 left and Pockat scored with 2:04 left to cut the deficit to 54-51. Gilman got a stop, but it missed three shots on its next possession. The teams traded stops, then Joey Syryczuk got a key blocked shot that gave Gilman the ball back and he hit his game-tying triple. Sahlin answered, getting behind Gilman’s press and converting a threepoint play with 31.4 seconds left. Tony Syryczuk then grabbed the rebound on Joey Syryczuk’s missed 3 and kicked the ball out to Pockat at the top of the key. Pockat got a friendly bounce off the back of the rim and knotted things at 57-57 with 16 seconds left. The Pirates then survived two Bruce misses to get to overtime.

Bruce got a steal and score from Rodewald to start the four-minute overtime period and Greyson LaRock added a rebound bucket to put the Red Raiders up 61-57. But the Red Raiders missed four free throws in a four-second span in the last half-minute. Ustianowski got inside for a three-point play with 7.2 seconds left. Rylan Dostal made the second of two free throws for Bruce, making it 62-60 with 5.6 seconds to go.

Ustianowski inbounded the ball to Tony Syryczuk, who got the ball up to Joey Syryczuk into the front court. He fed the trailing Ustianowski at the top of the key and the senior took one dribble, lofted a high-arcing left-handed jumper that hit the square perfectly for the tying bank shot at the buzzer.

Ustianowski also scored the first basket of the second overtime, but Bruce hit four of eight three throws to take a 66-64 lead with 24 seconds left. Pockat missed a 3, but Tony Syryczuk tracked down the long rebound and got the ball to Pockat, who drove into the lane and got his scoop shot to fall to tie the game yet again and extend the game by four more minutes.

Ustianowski’s rebound basket with 2:25 left in the third overtime put Gilman up for good. Pockat added two bonus free throws with 59 seconds left. Tony Syryczuk’s steal led to a Pockat free throw with 39.1 seconds to go. After two Bruce misses, Pockat sank two of four free throws after a foul with a technical foul tacked on to give the Pirates a three-score lead with 23.7 ticks left.

Tony Syryczuk scored eight points and had eight steals, four assists and six rebounds while playing a key role in the win. Halida dished out seven assists and had seven rebounds and five steals before fouling out late in the second overtime. Vick hit a first-half 3 and had three rebounds. Pockat had nine rebounds and three assists.

Bruce also had multiple players with double-doubles. LaRock scored all 14 of his points after halftime and he had 11 rebounds. Hautamaki scored 13 and grabbed 17 rebounds. Dostal had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Rodewald had 12 pionts and six steals.

Gilman attempted 88 shots, including 46 3-pointers. They only made nine of those 3s but got a couple when it mattered most. The Pirates shot 31.8% overall from the field (28 of 88) and made 10 of 18 free throws. Bruce was 25 of 76 from the field (32.9%) and hurt itself by making just 13 of 29 free throws.

With the win, Gilman earned the program’s first back-to-back victories since the 2019-20 Pirates beat Granton and Columbus Catholic on Feb. 11 and 13 of that season. This was Gilman’s first overtime game since a 69-63 loss at Greenwood on Feb. 16, 2019 and first overtime win since an 83-70 victory at Lake Holcombe on Dec. 17, 2018.