Owls rally to edge Panthers in 3 OTs

NORTH VERNON - Without a doubt, the Seymour Owls' game with Hoosier Hills Conference rival Jennings County on Saturday night will be in the minds of players, coaches and fans for the rest of this season - and maybe well beyond that.

The game was even at the end of regulation and two overtimes, but Seymour made crucial shots and a steal in the third overtime to eke out an 89-88 victory.

After shooting 7-for-28 from the field in the first half and not making a comeback until four minutes left in regulation, Owls coach Scott Miller said one thing arrived and saved the game.

"No doubt about it, it's intensity," Miller said. "We came out with the intensity level in the second half, particularly in quarter four and the three overtimes. That's what we have to play with all the time."

After a dismal first half for the Owls, they trailed 52-44 after three quarters.

"We played poorly in the first half at all levels," Miller said. "We did a poor job offensively. We did a terrible job defensively, and we talked about at halftime how well we played against Whiteland (Dec. 13), and the intensity with which we played."

Miller said the momentum-changer in the game came at 4:57 in the fourth quarter when Brandon Polbito stole the ball, ran it down for two and drew a foul. Fifty-three seconds later, Polbito's field goal gave the Owls the first lead of the game 55-54.

The lead went back and forth, with Seymour leading by as much as four. Aaron Kreutzjans, Alex Kirchner and Tanner Smith, however, each contributed 3-pointers for the Panthers, with Smith's tying the game at 64-all with 6 seconds left in regulation.

Seymour's Matt Trimnell made it just past midcourt, launched the ball and it went in, but the officials said the buzzer had already sounded.

The Panthers scored first in the first overtime. Polbito's steal and drive in the lane for two moved the Owls to within one, but Trimnell made a short jumper at 1:10 to give Seymour a 69-68 lead. Smith's free throw 19 seconds later made it 69-all, and his team had a chance at the buzzer, but it didn't fall.

Once again, the Panthers scored first, but Nolan Fife's second 3-pointer of the night, followed by Zach Toppe's three straight free throws, gave the Owls a four-point advantage. Jonathan Webster's steal and layup for the Panthers at 34 seconds preceded a Trimnell free throw. But again it was Smith who nailed a trey with six seconds on the clock to make it 76-all.

In the third overtime, the Panthers scored seven straight until Fife hit a 3-pointer for the Owls. Smith scored his final two points at 1:25, but 10 seconds later, Polbito got the offensive rebound and put-back and was fouled for a 3-point play.

The Panthers made a free throw, and then Fife got another 3-pointer. As the Panthers raced down the floor, Polbito stole the ball at midcourt and scored for the 87-86 lead.

Josh Martin scored a bucket to give the lead back to Jennings County, but with two seconds remaining on the clock, Polbito drove in the lane to give the Owls the win.

Trimnell led the Owls with 22 points, and Fife finished with 20. Polbito came up strong with 19, and Jordan Eggersman had 10.
For the Panthers, Smith led all scorer with 24.

After the game, Fife said, "Last week, (Miller) really stressed our heart and desire. Last week, we had it. In the first half tonight, we really didn't, and so he reminded us what it was like and we wanted that feeling again. So we came out in the second half and the overtimes and we had that. We just worked together. It's nice having a deep bench like we do."

Miller said, "We did have people step up, but by the same token, so did Jennings County. They had kids do a great job. What fantastic shooters and what shots they took.

"We had some great defensive efforts from Zach Toppe, who got key charges and some big free throws. We had a couple turnovers on rebounds, loose balls, and we just gave it right back to them, but those are learning experiences. And I know a lot of times, coaches will say, ‘We're going to learn from this loss.' But it's way more fun to learn from a win.

"I truly believe if you work as hard as you can, and I don't care what it is you're working at, good things just kind of happen because you deserve them. In the first half, we didn't play well enough to really earn those shots to go in. So it just seems like the harder you work, the better you play, that good things are likely going to happen for you.

"This is one of the neatest victories we've had (at Jennings County) because of how we had to do it. I think this is something that's going to stick in peoples' minds for a while.

Fife agreed. "It was huge. It was a confidence booster for sure. We're on the right track, and we're just going up from here. We played hard. That's all there is to it. We just played hard."

The Owls (3-4, 1-2) will be back in action Jan. 3 at Scottsburg. The Panthers are 1-7, 0-2.

Box score

At North Vernon
Seymour 15 9 20 20 5 7 13-89
JC 18 15 19 12 5 7 12-88
Seymour (3-4, 1-2): Polbito 7-13 5-6 19, Fife 6-14 2-2 20, Toppe 0-2 3-4 3, Moore 1-3 0-0 3, Carmichael 1-3 3-3 5, J. Eggersman 3-14 4-8 10, Kiel 2-7 0-0 5, E. Eggersman 0-5 2-2 2, Kirtley 0-1 0-0 0, Trimnell 6-15 9-11 22, totals 26-77 28-36 89
Jennings County (1-7, 0-2): Webster 4-7 0-0 9, Smith 6-18 7-8 24, Barker 1-2 0-0 2, Kirchner 4-15 2-2 12, Kreutzjans 2-3 0-0 5, Martin 5-8 3-4 16, Castetter 6-8 2-5 14, Gasper 0-3 6-9 6, totals 28-64 20-28 88
3-point goals: S 7-28 (Fife 4-10, Moore 1-2, Trimnell 1-1, Kiel 1-5), JC 12-27 (Smith 5-10, Kirchner 2-9, Martin 3-4, Webster 1-2, Kreutzjans 1-2); Rebounds: S 36 (Trimnell 7, J. Eggersman 7, Fife 7), JC 29 (Castetter 10, Barker 6, Gasper 4); Turnovers: S 11, JC 18; Fouls: S 22 (fouled out: Trimnell), JC 28 (fouled out: Castetter, Kreutzjans, Barker)
Junior varsity
Seymour 5 5 9 4-23
Jennings Co. 6 12 8 15-41
Seymour (3-4): Fellows 8, Turner 7, Kirtley 4, Ude 3, Mudge 1
Jennings County: Speer 12, Eder 11, Brunner 5, Lawson 4, Flora 4, Jackson 3, Gasper 2