The Carthage Tiger boys basketball team found themselves tied at the fourth quarter buzzer on a Tyler Willis shot that drove the hometown crowd into a screaming frenzy and led to two overtimes before putting the Central Bulldogs away for good.
The Tigers led the entire game, even by double-digits, before letting the lead slip in the fourth quarter and having to battle back with some clutch shooting as time was expiring.
With Central leading 55-53 and only 2.1 seconds on the clock, Carthage took a timeout to set up their final play. On a half court heave by Clay Kinder to Justin Ray, Central was able to disrupt Ray, but not before he tipped it to Willis, who immediately pulled up and sank the shot to send it to overtime.
Central was able to build a three point lead in the first overtime, but a 3-pointer from Ray late in the extra period tied the game and sent it to the second overtime.
Max Templeman led the Tigers in scoring with a game-high 29 points followed by Joel Pugh with 17 points including four 3-pointers. Kinder added 10 points, but more importantly, took a charge with 10 seconds left and a two-point lead in the second overtime to seal the fate of the visiting Bulldogs.
The Tigers are now 4-1 on the year and face Rogers, Ark. at 3:30 p.m., Saturday in the 4 States Challenge hosted by Webb City.
