ELMIRA – The Sutherlin girls took five overtimes to do it, but they finally clinched the Sky-Em League title at Elmira Friday night.
The Bulldogs couldn’t shake the feisty Falcons, who tied the game 29-29 at the end of regulation on a 3-point play by Alex Olson. Each team scored four in the first overtime, and four more in the second extra period. After four extra periods it was 47-47, but in the 5th extra frame, Kayce Mock put the Bulldogs up 52-51 and Taylor Stricklin added a field goal and 3 of 4 free-throws to seal a dramatic win at Elmira.
Stricklin had 17 points at the end of regulation and finished with 34. Mock hit for 12 points and Harlee Baker, who didn’t score in the first half, had 10.
Alex Olson led the Falcons with 15, Ashton Webber had 13, and Miranda Jensen had 11.
The Bulldogs, who are 8-0 in league play, clinched the Sky-Em League title with a 3-game lead and only two left to play. It is their 5th consecutive league championship including three times in the Far West League and now twice in the Sky-Em.
The Sutherlin boys had a battle to the wire as well, and for a while it looked like they might be headed to overtime. The Bulldogs led 43-42 in the fourth quarter but couldn’t hold it. Jackson Shelton tied the game at 47-all with a 3-pointer. He tied it again with less than two minutes to play at 49-49, but Elmira scored the final four points of the game for a 53-49 victory.
Shelton and Cody Brownson each had 12 and Duston Eakin and Wryland McKnight each had 10.
The loss may have put the state playoffs out of reach for the boys, as they fell to 3-5 in league and 11-11 overall. The Falcons improved to 3-5 in league and 13-8 for the season.
The boys have to deal with 5th ranked Cottage Grove on Tuesday at home and they go on the road at 2nd place Junction City on Friday for the final league game. You can hear the boys and girls games on i101fm with pregame at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday and tipoff at 5:45 p.m. for the girls and 7:15 p.m. for the boys.