HOLLAND – Both Tinora and Paulding made the long trip to Springfield High School Wednesday evening for a Division III boys basketball sectional contest.
However, the two squads needed an extra period before Tinora rallied from five points down in the final minute to post a 49-46 win over the Panthers.
Trailing 46-41 with under 40 seconds remaining, Tinora picked up a three-point play by Luke Harris to cut the deficit to 46-44.
After a Paulding turnover, Owen Ackerman converted an old-fashioned three-point play to put the Rams on top 47-46 with 10.7 seconds left on the clock.
The Panthers were unable to score on the ensuing possession before the Rams added two more foul shots with 0.7 seconds remaining to seal the 49-46 victory.
Paulding held a slim 12-10 advantage at the end of one quarter before the maroon and white added a dozen markers in the second quarter in expanding the margin to 24-18 at the end of two periods.
Quarter number three saw both teams picked up 11 points as the Raiders still led 35-29 entering the final stanza.
However, Tinora rallied to send the game into the extra session as the green and white picked up a dozen markers in the final period compared to six for Paulding as the squads were knotted at 41-41 at the end of regulation.
Ethan Foltz led the way for Paulding with 13 markers while Nick Manz added a dozen points and Casey Agler chipped in 11. Luke Zartman also had seven for the Panthers with Peyton Adams bucketing three.
Luke Harris topped all scorers for Tinora with 17 points and Owen Ackerman posted ten markers. Eli Plassman (nine), Cole Anders (eight) and Alex Homier (five) were the remaining Tinora point scorers.
