ORANGE — Pete’s Tire Barn’s Lian Lopez-Baez connected on a mid-range jumper with 37 seconds left in overtime to give his team a four-point lead over Porter Transportation.
When he saw the ball go in, he raised his hands into fists, turned around and ran back to play defense.
Porter’s Lucas Isrow netted one free throw with 29 seconds remaining, but Pete’s forced two turnovers in the final 29 seconds to seal a 30-27 overtime victory, Wednesday afternoon in Orange Recreation Association action.
Isrow connected on two free throws to tie the game at 24 and send it to overtime. Lopez-Baez connected on a layup to give Pete’s a two-point lead with 1:29 left. Jaxson Archambault went right down the court for Porter, netting a layup to tie the game at 26. Trey St. Pierre responded with a layup to give Pete’s the lead for good at 28-26.
Pete’s outscored Porter 10-6 within the last four minutes of the fourth quarter to tie the game at 24.
Down 18-14, Caleb Rodriguez connected on a jumper to pull Pete’s within 18-16. After Isrow converted on a layup for a 20-16 lead, Pete’s outscored Porter 6-0 thanks to baskets from Aiden Britt and St. Pierre, giving Pete’s a 22-20 lead with 2:30 left in regulation.
Isrow made two free throws to tie it at 22. Rodriguez converted on a steal into a layup to give Pete’s a two-point lead when Isrow tied it again with two more free throws.
Isrow gave Porter an 18-14 lead midway through the fourth when he netted six straight points.
Porter led 13-12 at the end of the third quarter. Britt cut the deficit to one for Pete’s on a layup. Prior to the layup, Zaccai Perry and Nathan Griffith netted baskets for Porter to give it a 13-10 lead. Griffith also played strong defense in the third quarter, forcing multiple turnovers.
Down 9-2, Pete’s went on an 8-0 run to end the second quarter. Lian Lopez-Baez converted two layups, while Rodriguez converted on another. Luan Lopez-Baez put his team up by one with a basket from underneath. Roy Adams had three rebounds for Porter.
Porter started the game up 6-0. Tristen Robidoux closed the deficit to four with a jumper for Pete’s. Britt had four rebounds and two steals for Pete’s in the first quarter.
With 3:12 left in the second quarter, Lian Lopez-Baez gathered in the pass. He put his head down and dribbled into the lane, driving to the hoop and sunk a hook shot around the defender.
For Pete’s Tire Barn: Lian Lopez-Baez, 8; Caleb Rodriguez, 8; Aiden Britt, 6; Trey St. Pierre, 4; Luan Lopez-Baez, 2; Tristen Robidoux, 2.
For Porter Transportation: Lucas Isrow, 10; Jaxson Archambault, 5; Roy Adams, 4; Nathan Griffith, 4; Zaccai Perry, 2; Leighton Soucie, 2.