(Photo provided by Dionne DePuy).
The Marathon varsity boys basketball team clinched the IAC North Small School Division on Saturday, after defeating Moravia 63-61 in overtime on Saturday.
Tensions were high at the beginning of the game, and defense seemed to dominate both sides. In the second quarter, Moravia came alive scoring 22 points to get a four point halftime lead over the Marathon Olympians. Marathon's Diego Castellot scored 11 of his 22 in the second quarter to hold the Olympians close.
Things stayed in Moravia’s favor in the third quarter, as they hit three 3-pointers to get a nine point advantage. In the fourth quarter, the game stayed between six to nine points (Moravia advantage) until 3:50 to go. After a time-out and down seven, Marathon senior Owen Hoyt connected on back-to-back threes to put Marathon in striking range. Then with seconds to go Castellot connected on a two point field goal to send the game into overtime.
In the extra period, the Olympians went up by six before Moravia came back to tie the game with two 3-pointers. With only 11 seconds left, Hoyt connected on a pull up jumper to give Marathon the two point win.
“We struggled shooting the ball again, but the boys stayed true to course and played hard,” stated Marathon Head Coach Jim Holland. “I really felt that the senior mentality showed for us in the final three minutes of regulation. Tonight was a total team effort. Moravia played well. The first time we played in December, they only hit three from the arc, but today they were lights out. They will be a tough out in sectionals.”
Up next, the Olympians (15-2) will host Tioga for “Senior Night” on February 11th at 7pm.
