Cuyahoga Falls, OH - On Friday night the Cuyahoga Falls Black Tigers hosted the Tallmadge Blue Devils in a rematch. The Blue Devils won the first matchup 58-48.
To start the first quarter Tallmadge and Cuyahoga went back and forth not giving either team an edge, as both teams shots were falling despite some good defense. The first quarter ended with the teams tied 14-14.
Both teams were looking to make a splash and take the lead but it was another tightly contested quarter, where Tallmadge's own Ty Hurst made a pair of three pointers and the Black Tigers' Drew Huffman made a three of his own.
Luckily enough for the Blue Devils they weren't going into halftime empty handed as they were able to pull away by one score which made the game 27-25.
Coming out of the locker rooms, Tallmadge looked a little sloppy to start the third quarter as they weren't playing the best defense and their offensive drives were resulting in turnovers or missed shots.
On the other hand, the Black Tigers looked rejuvenated as they came out and took the lead right away with a pair of shots from junior Tim Mitchell. The excitement was short lived as Tallmadge ended up turning it back on.
After they lost the lead, the Blue Devils became a whole new team as Hurst and Collin Dixon put up a pair of their own shots and helped the rest of the team put up a total of 16 points in the third and went into the fourth with a lead of 43-36.
Offensively for Tallmadge in the fourth quarter wasn't anything special, but they struggled on the defensive end.
Cuyahoga Falls was looking to make a comeback and win the game which looked like it was going to be true as they locked in and put up a total of 15 points in this quarter and holding Tallmadge to 8. The result was a 51-51 tie as we headed to overtime.
In the first overtime it looked like the Black Tigers had the game in their hands as they took a quick four point lead with buckets by Mitchell and Huffman making the score 55-51.
Fortunately for Tallmadge that's all of the points they would allow in the overtime period, as they were able to make their shots and send the game into a second overtime after making the score 55-55.
Both teams were tired and ready to put this game away, but their can only be one winner, so the teams locked in and readied themselves for a final battle in double overtime.
Tallmadge was riding off of the momentum they got from tying the game to send it into double overtime. They took a quick lead with a shot from Dixon, and they were playing great defense all around.
Cuyahoga was in a bad position to comeback from, but they had done it once and were confident they could do it again as Huffman and Mitchell made their shots connect. They were able to put up enough points to only be down by two.
When the score was 62-60, the Black Tigers were about to score, but Ty Hurst was able to steal the ball. As he was driving he was fouled, which led to two free throws Unfortunately for the Blue Devils he missed the first, which had everyone on the edge of their seats. With the roaring of the crowd and the flashing of the lights, Hurst was able to drill the second one putting his team up by three.
Cuyahoga was not able to hit a buzzer beater to tie the game as the Blue Devils won in a thriller 63-60.
Interview with Tallmadge coach Justen Little
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