On Friday, they were the comeback kids. Down the stretch, the Falcons chipped away at the Chieftains’ lead until Nick VanHoose, who had a game-high 19 points, made a lay-up as time expired in regulation to send the game into overtime tied at 36.
Graham outscored Bellefontaine 7-2 in the overtime to earn a 43-38 victory in front of a capacity crowd of 2,000 fans.
It advanced to the districts for the fourth straight season.
“We talked about it before the game,” Cupps said. “We felt like our schedule had prepared us to where we were going to face some adversity. Through (the adversity), we know how to respond it.”
Austin Hicks had 11 points for Graham (18-5), which advanced to play the winner of Roger Bacon and Finneytown in a district final game on Wednesday at 9 p.m. at UD Arena.
Graham led 23-21 entering the fourth quarter. VanHoose scored on the Falcons’ first possession to put them up four, but the Chieftains went on a 14-0 run to take a 33-25 lead. They held Graham scoreless for over six minutes.
Adam Zook hit a 3-pointer to end the drought with 51.2 seconds left, pulling Graham to within five. After Bellefontaine missed three straight free throws, Zook made two free throws to bring Graham to within three points.
Bellefontaine’s Michael Bean-Breaston and VanHoose each made two free throws to make it 35-32 with 16.6.
The Chieftains’ Matt Gump then made one of two foul shots to give them a four-point advantage.
VanHoose then made a layup with 5.9 seconds. After a Graham timeout, Bellefontaine threw the inbounds pass out of bounds, giving Graham the ball underneath its own bucket, setting up VanHoose’s game-tying shot.
In the overtime, Graham made five of eight free throws to seal the victory.
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