Just one day after falling in an overtime thriller, the Toledo boy’s basketball team once again had to play an extra period.
“After last night, I didn’t know if I could take another one,” Toledo coach Grady Fallon joked.
The Riverhawks were able to prevail on Friday, however, as they topped Morton-White Pass 75-72.
Cooper Fallon was a monster in the paint, leading the Riverhawks (10-3, 5-3 C2BL) with 34 points and 12 rebounds.
In their first game against Morton-White Pass, he scored just two points, but on Friday, Grady Fallon said that he was much more relaxed, which allowed him to set the tone inside.
“He knew he was the biggest guy on the court, and he played like it tonight,” Fallon said. “He had a great game … And he’s really good at kicking it out when guys are open.”
While Fallon was having success seemingly at will, the Riverhawks couldn’t pull away.
“It just seemed like every time we got a five-point lead, they’d hit a three to close it,” Fallon said. “They’re scrappy and played their butts off… They just played hard, and luckily we were able to match it.”
With 16 seconds left in the OT period, the two teams were tied, and Toledo called a timeout to draw up a play. Just like Thursday, the Riverhawks turned the ball over, giving the ball back to the T-Wolves.
““It was like ‘Here we go again,’” Fallon said.
This time around, the Riverhawks weren’t downed by a game-winning stop, however. Instead, the defense came up with a stop, and after a Cooper Fallon free-throw gave them a one-point lead, it came up with another one.
“Shake that monkey off our back,” Fallon said. “We should’ve/could've/would’ve beat Toutle at home, and then they get a buzzer-beater. Then we were up all night last night at home and they hit a buzzer-beater … Obviously, there were errors. But after the game, we said ‘Let’s just enjoy the win.’”
Judah Kelly and Tony Belgiorno had their usual success for the Timberwolves (3-8, 0-4 C2BL). Kelly led the Wolves with 25 points, while Belgirono added 13, but it was Keaton Thompson who finished with 20 to finish second on the team in scoring.
Thompson hit five 3-pointers on the day, including one in the fourth quarter and two in OT.
“We always knew he could shoot,” Dunlap said. “He just is getting quicker with his release, and he’s definitely getting more confident … It’s huge having another shooter.”
The T-Wolves are still looking for their first win, and while Dunlap was pleased with the way his team competed, he knows that they’ll need to flip these results to give themselves a chance to play in the postseason.
“I’d like to turn a few more of these into wins,” Dunlap said. “We definitely need to finish a few games, not just stay in them.”
Morton-White Pass’ next chance to get in the win column in league play will come Saturday at Rainier, while Toledo will play for the third straight day when they welcome Adna on Saturday.
