Seniors Tyler Cross and Mason Johnson each scored 15 points and sophomore Nate Van Loo added 10 for the Indians, who improved to 13-3 and 10-2 in the OHC South.
“I felt like we persevered,” said Cedarville coach Ryan Godlove. “We faced a lot of adversity tonight. We were down (six points) in the fourth quarter and to make a run, make a comeback and get through the overtimes, I thought our perseverance was awesome.
“It’s honestly all kind of a blur,” he said.
Southeastern senior Ayden Robinson scored a game-high 26 points, senior Gehrig Cordial had 18, senior Cole Walton scored 11 and junior Brennan Workman added 10 as the Trojans fell to 9-5 and 7-4 in the division.
“We never gave up,” said Trojans coach Chris Stout. “They fought tooth and nail the entire time. We just came up on the short end. I’m proud of them.”
Cedarville jumped out to a 9-0 lead to start the game, but Southeastern cut the lead to 33-27 at the half. Southeastern took the lead in the fourth quarter, extending it to 49-43 on two free throws by Cordial with about four minutes to go. The senior is returning to form after missing six games earlier this season with an illness.
“He gave us a big offensive boost that we haven’t had for awhile,” Stout said.
Cross scored nine straight points for the Indians, including a 3-point with about two minutes left that gave them a 52-51 lead. Robinson converted a free throw to tie the score at 52 and neither team was able to score down the stretch, sending the game to overtime.
Cedarville jumped out to a 57-53 lead two minutes into the extra period. After Cross fouled out, Cedarville sophomore Will Mossing hit one of two free throws to make it 58-55. Workman countered with an old-fashioned three-point play to tie the game at 58.
With 11 seconds to go, Van Loo found Johnson in the lane for a layup, giving Cedarville a 60-58 lead. Robinson inbounded the ball to Walton, who drove the length of the floor and finished with his left hand to send the game to double overtime tied at 60.
Criswell scored the first four points of the second overtime period to make it 64-60.
“With (Cross) being out, I knew I had to step up,” he said.
Cedarville senior Kyle Orchard followed with a bucket and Criswell hit another free throw to extend the lead to 67-60 with two minutes remaining.
“It’s always fun playing here, it’s always loud,” Criswell said. “It’s a pretty fun court to play at and with it being smaller, the tempo is going the whole game. It’s just fun.”
Robinson and Cordial hit back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 67-66. With 33 seconds to go, Mossing hit two free throws to give Cedarville a three-point advantage.
After a Southeastern timeout, Workman hit a 3-pointer to tie the score at 69. On the ensuing possession, Criswell was fouled with eight seconds remaining. He hit the first free throw to make it 70-69, but his second attempt fell short. The Trojans face-guarded Criswell for most of the game, Godlove said, but he did a great job of picking his spots.
“I was really proud of him stepping up and being mentally tough and playing through it,” Godlove said. “You don’t get a lot of good looks when they’re playing you like that. I felt like he did a great job of not trying to force it, but still be aggressive on the offensive end. He had a great game and when we needed the free throws, he stepped up and made them.”
On Southeastern’s last possession, Walton drove to the basket and was fouled with 3.2 seconds remaining. Both free throws rimmed out and Cedarville grabbed the rebound, running out the clock for the victory.
Cedarville remained in first place in the OHC South with four division games to play. Cedarville, which is seeking its first OHC title since the 2020-2021 season, travels to second place Greeneview (9-5, 7-3) on Friday night.
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