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Comets work Overtime photo by Andrew Mariman By Kris Henry CENTRAL POINT � Crater and Eagle Point might be taking their rivalry to a new extreme when it comes to boys basketball. In the nine previous meetings between the school�s head coaches heading into Thursday, four were settled in overtime. Make that five out of 10. Sparked by Steve Darnell�s game-tying 3-pointer, which resulted in overtime, and four points by him to start the extra period, the Comets held off Eagle Point for a 63-54 win and the championship of the Airport Chevrolet Tournament. Both teams moved to 4-4 on the season. Crook County blasted Del Norte, 60-39, in the consolation final. "When it went into overtime I looked over at Keith (Williams, Eagles coach) and I was like, �You�re kidding me,�" said fourth-year Crater coach Matt Meunier. "To go overtime with a team that many times is unbelievable." Overtime seemed unlikely after a wild scenario with six minutes to play. Andy Haas scored inside for Crater and was fouled by Rocky Johnston to put the Comets up 45-40. Williams argued for a traveling call on the play and was assessed a technical foul, giving Crater two more free throws and the ball. Derek Petersen calmly sank both shots and Haas scored another inside basket to push the lead to 49-40. Instead of putting a nail in the Eagles� coffin, the sudden change on the scoreboard invigorated Williams� crew as it rattled off 10 unanswered points to take its first lead of the game. Johnston had four of his 10 points in that stretch, Danny Acrey added two baskets and Erick Nackerud�s rebound basket made it 50-49. Ian Brooks stole the ball on Crater�s ensuing possession, setting up two free throws by Greg Horn to push the Eagle advantage to 52-49. Just needing something positive to stem the tide with 1:20 to play, Crater found an improbable hero in Darnell. To that point, the senior had only one basket, and that came early in the first quarter. He hadn�t even taken a shot in the second half. But when the push against Eagle Point�s press sent the ball into Darnell�s hands in the right corner, the 5-foot-10 guard didn�t hesitated in depositing an arcing shot into the basket. "I felt like I was feeling it all game, I just wasn�t getting the shots," said Darnell, who credited Acrey�s defensive pressure for setting him up. Darnell continued his assault by scoring to open the overtime. He then intercepted an errant pass and went coast-to-coast for a layup. "We were down because they hadn�t led the whole game and they got the lead right there at the end," Darnell said of his team�s psyche heading into OT. "But we�ve had quite a few overtime experiences, and we did what we had to do." Petersen scored three of his 10 points in overtime and Andrew Norum added four as Crater scored the first 11 points of the extra session. Conversely, the Eagles were unable to connect on their first seven attempts in overtime. "That�s a back-breaker," said Williams. "We didn�t respond with many hoops in that overtime. They missed some free throws and gave us chances, but we just couldn�t come up with anything." Acrey, who had only two points at halftime, drained a jumper in the final 15 seconds to give him 14 points on a tough night shooting for the senior leader. Norum led all scorers with 16 points, including 10 in the first quarter as Crater managed a 21-8 advantage. "We didn�t get off to a very good start, and that�s kind of been our pattern," said Williams. "We just don�t seem to be ready to play at the beginning of the game, and that�s hurt us." Crater has a wrinkle of its own to iron out before Southern Oregon Conference play begins. "We get a lead and relax and then all of a sudden it�s not so important to do things right," said Meunier. "The key for us is to play a full 32 minutes. We�re playing about a 20-minute game right now. Today we were lucky to have four minutes of overtime." Haas had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Comets, while Darnell finished with nine points and four assists. Paul Burdick had 11 points for the Eagles, with Johnston coming off the bench to add eight rebounds. As nice as it was to win, Meunier said none of that will matter in a few weeks. "Jan. 2 they�re right back in our gym and that�s a counter," he said of the SOC opener for both squads. EAGLE POINT (54) � Almarez 2, Horn 5, Gray 2, Brooks 6, Johnston 10, Nackerud 4, Acrey 14, Burdick 11, Campbell 0. Totals: 18 15-16 54. CRATER (63) � Goode 4, Petersen 10, Darnell 9, Pettegrew 5, Haas 15, Burrill 4, Norum 16, Sills 0. Totals: 25 10-23 63. Eagle Point...........................................8 12 16 16 2 � 54 Crater...................................................21 6 15 10 11 � 63 3-point goals � Eagle Point 3 (Horn 1, Brooks 2), Crater 3 (Petersen 1, Darnell 1, Norum 1). Technical fouls � Eagle Point coach Williams. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.