DUKE CENTER – It’s fair to say that the second meeting between the Otto-Eldred and Port Allegany boys was a bit more interesting than the first.

After being steamrolled by the Terrors 71-26 on Jan. 5, the Gators (11-8 overall, 9-4 North Tier League) put forth a much better performance on Tuesday night. Unfortunately, the result was the same as before, with Otto-Eldred (9-7, 8-3 NTL) eking out a 47-45 victory.

“Definitely a lot better than the first game,” Stuckey said, who missed the first meeting due to illness.

In a game that featured a big run by both teams, it was the Terrors’ which came at the right time to propel them to victory.

The game’s first quarter, though, was not one that will go down in the record books.

It took more than four minutes for O-E’s Sawyer Drummond to record the first points of the contest, and it wasn’t until nearly the three-minute mark of the first until Port Allegany found the scoreboard.

A very long 3-pointer by Bosco Ramiro near the end of the quarter was about the only notable offensive play of the first eight minutes, as the Terrors held a meager 9-4 advantage after one.

These offensive struggles were not the result of a lack of aggressiveness from either side. Both teams looked to drive the lane but often came up empty.

With under two minutes left in the half, Damen Palmer came up with a takeaway and converted at the other end to put the Terrors up 17-8. They would go into halftime with a 20-14 lead.

While Otto-Eldred struggled just as much as their opponents, a more balanced attack helped keep them out in front. Seven different players found the score sheet for the Terrors in the first half as opposed to just three for the Gators.

“We definitely had a balanced scoring night,” O-E coach Dan Dalton said. “Port played well; they made some 3s in the second and third quarter. But overall I thought we played better in the second half.”

Thankfully, the action picked up considerably in the third quarter as both teams went on a big run, starting with the Gators.

After coming out of the gates hot to tie the score at 22-22, a 3-pointer by Howie Stuckey – who finished with a game-high 14 points – gave Port Allegany its first lead of the game at 25-22.

Another trey by Stuckey helped cap off a 14-3 Gators run that had them out in front 28-23 midway through the third.

But the Terrors responded quickly and emphatically with some nice long-range shooting of their own.

A long ball by Seth Drummond with under two minutes to go in the period got O-E back in front 30-28. After getting a quick stop, the Terrors came right back down the court and got a nice layup from Dylan Close.

“I thought we got to the basket a lot better in the third, and of course we finished once we got there,” Dalton said. “I thought our tempo was good in the third quarter. It was just about heart and having pride to come out and play in the second half.”

With less than 10 seconds left in the quarter, Trey Dalton capped off the surge in style with a great basket that also drew a foul. His subsequent free throw gave O-E a 37-28 lead on the strength of a 14-0 run.

Stuckey attributed the big run to his team’s struggles on the boards.

“A theme of practice was box out, box out,” he said. “We seldom do and in the third quarter it came back to haunt us. They hit the boards hard with two or three rebounders at a time. We’ve got to box out and get control of the boards.”

Play was a bit more measured in the fourth quarter as both sides exchanged baskets.

“In the fourth quarter we did a little bit better job,” Stuckey said. “We were getting the bounces and getting some rebounds.”

The Terrors were able to remain in front despite an absolutely abysmal performance from the free throw line. O-E shot a dreadful three for 22 from the charity stripe, something that didn’t go unnoticed by coach Dalton.

“Sometimes in games like this we’re not strong shooters at times so we emphasize getting to the basket,” he said. “We do a good job of getting to the basket but we’ve got to make our foul shots.”

Stuckey acknowledged that there was the opportunity to start intentionally fouling, but perhaps earlier than he would have preferred.

“My intention was to start fouling earlier but that can bite you too because they can go from cold to hot in a hurry,” he said. “It worked to our advantage in that sense but we couldn’t finish on the other end.”

Down 47-43 with less than a minute to play, the Gators had their chances but a takeaway by Palmer with 11 seconds left sealed the victory.

“They wasted too much time at the end,” Stuckey said. “We still had enough time to go for 2s, no reason to go for 3s at that point. I think there were 30 seconds at the end and we burned it down to 20. We just hurt ourselves.”

Sawyer Drummond and Dalton were the Terrors’ leading scorers, both finishing with 10 points. Jordan Bell (11 points) and David Talkington (10) also finished in double-figures for Port Allegany.

At DUKE CENTER

Port Allegany (45)

McCaslin 4 0-0 8, David Talkington 3 2-2 10, Howie Stuckey 5 0-0 14, Lashaway 1 0-0 2, Jordan Bell 3 5-7 11, Totals 16 7-9 45.

Otto-Eldred (47)

Sawyer Drummond 5 0-4 10, Close 3 1-6 7, Palmer 1 0-1 2, Ramiro 2 0-4 6, Sherwood 3 0-0 6, Se. Drummond 2 1-3 6, Trey Dalton 4 1-4 10, Totals 20 3-22 47.

Port Allegany  4  14  28  45

Otto-Eldred     9  20  37  47

Three-point FGs: Port Allegany 6 (Talkington 2, Stuckey 4), Otto-Eldred 4 (Ramiro 2, Se. Drummond, Dalton)

Total fouls: Port Allegany 19, Otto-Eldred 11. Fouled out: none

JV score: Otto-Eldred 64-10