Isaac Davison
CENTERVILLE, Ind. – The Union City boys basketball team need an extra session to get past Centerville on Tuesday as the Indians defeated the Bulldogs 58-54.
Scoring the first seven points in the overtime period, Union City took control of the Tri-Eastern Conference contest and the Indians were on to their third straight victory.
“I thought we did a great job executing in overtime,” Union City Head Coach Dustin Baldwin said. “We got a couple point lead and we made them come get us.”
“When they came and got us,” Baldwin added. “We took care of the ball, we hit some free throws, we executed against the press and just did a great job of taking over and finishing the game. I know we have guys that will dig deep and that will grind it out.”
The Indians outscored the Bulldogs in the overtime 11-7 on the strength of Isaac Davison nailing 7-of-8 free throws in the frame.
“I am confident with my free throws, but it goes with anybody,” Davison said. “If you get fouled, it’s your job to hit the free throws. Everyone’s got to be confident and ready to shoot the free throws.”
Davison led the Indians with 16 points.
“I always have to keep a positive attitude throughout the entire game,” Davison said. “I don’t mind letting other teammates score. I know who’s hot, who’s not. I wasn’t hot, so I had to find someone else who was.”
All of Davison’s points came after halftime and he also topped the Indians with nine rebounds.
“He didn’t get anything going (in the first half),” Baldwin said. “He made an effort of really attacking (in the second half). When he’s engaged and the defense has to focus on him, so many other things open up. We want the ball in his hands and 90 percent of the time he makes good decisions.”
Bailey Hughes scored 15 points for the Indians, while Isaac Jefferis had a dozen with all them in the opening half.
Union City led at every stop until the final stanza when the two teams ended regulation time at 47-47.
After falling behind 45-38 late in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs battled back.
“We’ve mastered the playing hard part,” Centerville Head Coach Seve Beach said. “Our mental aspect went back to being that young group at the beginning of the year. That’s probably the hardest part to overcome.”
Alex Brandon
With 34 seconds remaining, Alex Brandon hit a pair of free throws to tie the contest. Union City called two timeouts, but the Indians couldn’t execute in the final moments of the period and the game went to overtime.
“The execution was just a hair off for whatever reason most of the night,” Beach said. “That gave them just enough to come out on top.”
“Number 24 (Hughes) stepped up big and made some shots down there on the block and got some big offensive rebounds for them,” Beach continued. “Hat’s off to them.”
Brandon led the Bulldogs with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Matt Stamper finished with 14 points.
Centerville won the JV contest 49-44 as Josh Duke led the Bulldogs with a game-high 20 points.
Peyton VanWinkle added nine points for Centerville..
The Indians were led by Cameron Luster with 14 points. Chase Jefferis tossed in 12 points.
Both teams play TEC contests on Friday night with Centerville (4-13, 0-5) entertaining Tri, while Union City (10-9, 2-3) gets a visit from Union County.
Box Score
UNION CITY (10-9, 2-3) – Isaac Davison 4 7-8 16, Tyler Thornhill 3 0-0 6, Bailey Hughes 7 1-1 15, Trevor Spence 1 0-0 2, Isaac Jefferis 5 0-0 12, TrevorThompson 3 1-2 7, Aaron Foster 0 0-0 0. Team – 23 9-11 58.
CENTERVILLE (4-13, 0-5) – Rickey Torres 2 2-2 7, Matt Stamper 5 1-3 14, Alex Brandon 7 4-4 18, Justin DuPree 3 0-0 7, Michael Brewer 3 0-0 6, Myles Cunningham 0 0-0 0, Dante Torres 0 0-0 0, Devin Christian 1 0-1 2. Team – 21 7-10 54.
Union City 12 20 36 47 58
Centerville 8 19 33 47 54
3-pointers – Union City 3 (Jefferis 2, Davison 1), Centerville 5 (Stamper 3, R.Torres 1, DuPree 1). Rebounds – Union City 34 (Davison 9), Centerville 29 (Brandon 11). Turnovers – Union City 13, Centerville 13. Fouls – Union City 15, Centerville 14.