GALETON — Monday night, the Oswayo Valley boys basketball team suffered a heartbreaking defeat to Portville (N.Y.) in a game it had been leading most of the way.
A night later — and despite it taking two extra overtime periods — the Green Wave were determined not to suffer a similar fate.
In a thrilling back-and-forth affair that saw 51 made field goals between the two teams, Oswayo Valley escaped winless North Tier League foe Galeton with a 70-64 double overtime victory.
Green Wave (3-14, 3-9) head coach Nick Goss noted that there were many big shots in the 40-plus minutes of basketball for both sides, but highlighted a key make from OV’s Ian Bilski that not only prolonged the game but also gave them some added momentum.
“Bilski hit a game-tying layup as time expired to send it to double overtime and Ian just came up big for us (in overtime),” Goss said. “He really came through for us and gave us that energy boost we needed to win the game.”
Noah Wichert picked up another double-double for OV with 18 points and 12 rebounds, and the big man added four blocks. Cayden Black facilitated the offense with nine points and nine assists.
“Honestly, Galeton played 110% right from the very beginning and they definitely gave us their best shot tonight,” Goss noted of his opponents.
The Green Wave escaped a massive individual performance from Galeton’s (0-17, 0-12) Ty Stover. He had 33 points, including double-digits in the overtime periods, and nearly helped the Tigers in what has been a grueling stretch.
“That Ty Stover, man, he couldn’t be stopped,” Goss said. “He played his best basketball tonight.”
The Tigers had lost its previous 17 games of the season by at least 10 points, including a 51-40 defeat to the Green Wave earlier this month.
AT GALETON
Oswayo Valley (70)
Black 4 0-3 9, Stedman 3 2-4 8, Gunner Bean 3 2-6 11, Gross 3 1-2 8, Noah Wichert 8 2-4 18, Bilski 3 2-2 8, Phillips 2 4-4 8. Totals: 25 13-25 70
Galeton (64)
Ty Stover 12 5-9 33, Shutt 4 0-1 9, Kalacinski 3 0-0 7, Crowell 4 0-0 8, Hulbert 0 0-2 0, Sykora 1 0-0 3, Smith 2 0-0 4. Totals: 26 5-12 64
Three-point goals: OV 5 (Bean 3, Black, Gross), Galeton 7 (Stover 4, Shutt, Kalacinski, Sykora); Total fouls: OV 16, Galeton 14; fouled out: Phillips (OV), Crowell (Galeton)
JV: OV won
