Ashland boys basketball rallies to beat Madison in overtime
ASHLAND — Luke Denbow and his teammates had one thing on their minds as the Ashland boys basketball team entered into overtime against Ohio Cardinal Conference rival Madison Friday night at Arrow Arena.
Win the game for senior Luke Jurjevic, who was injured with 2:22 left in the third quarter and the Arrows trailing 44-37.
But Ashland came back and tied the score 62-62 at the end of regulation as Kamden Mowry’s right baseline layup with 1:04 left in the fourth quarter sent the game into the extra session.
And you might say Ashland gave a little extra effort in OT by going 5 of 8 from the floor and 4 of 6 at the line to earn a hard-fought 77-70 win over upset-minded Madison.
With the win, Ashland took over sole possession of first place in the OCC at 6-2 and 11-4 overall. Madison slipped to 3-5, 9-6.
“Having Luke out, that really hurts us. He is our leader defensively in the paint, offensively in the paint, and also our leader on the team, but we had to rally around him, and I think we did that tonight,” said Denbow, who scored seven of his game-high 32 points in the extra session. “(Madison has) been playing well recently, and they’re playing hard, so we just had to battle back being down late in the third and then to come back. In the overtime, we were just doing it for Luke. It’s his senior year, and it sucks for him. It really does.
“For me, I really wanted to win it for him. He’s one of my close friends, and I’ll do anything for him.”
Jurjevic was a force inside for Ashland, scoring eight points and grabbing 11 rebounds until his injury occurred.
Grayson Steury stepped up big with 19 points, Keslar Bates popped in 10 points and Mowry clicked for eight points.
“It’s a close-knit team, and we don’t have a lot of numbers, and those guys are pretty close, especially the senior group, and have been together since Pee Wee ball over at the Friendly House,” said Ashland coach Jason Hess. “When (Jurjevic) went down, things didn’t look good because we were down seven points. And I think the guys were able to rally and refocus and push themselves and challenge themselves and step up and be able to pull this one out.”
Madison has been playing extremely well of late and looked like a different team than the one that lost 61-42 to Ashland on Dec. 14.
But with the solid play of Jayden Jeffries (20 points), Levi Zehner (16 points), Isaac Brooks (13 points) and Ethan Spillman (nine points on three 3-pointers), the Rams overcame an early 12-0 deficit after starting the game 0 for 9 from the floor.
“I think identity is such a huge piece, and I think we kind of figured out who we are and how we need to play to be successful,” said Madison coach Chris Armstrong. “We’re doing a little less trapping, but we’re still extending full-court pressure to try and wear on teams. And I think we’re doing a better job of not giving up anything easy and rebounding.”
Steury's deep 3 gives Ashland the lead for good
Both teams traded baskets to open the extra period, but Steury launched around a 30-foot open look at the right of the top of the key that gave Ashland a 67-64 lead, and Madison never caught back up with the Arrows, who outscored the Rams 15-8 in overtime. It was Steury’s third 3-pointer of the night, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
“I thought in overtime our kids played with a lot of energy, and Grayson got an open look there even though it was a good 25-footer or whatever,” Hess said. “He didn’t hesitate, and he’s made those shots for three years now so it was no surprise when it went in.
"And, really, it kind of rallied our guys and gave us momentum, and we were able to get some stops and did an excellent job of rebounding in overtime, rather than what we did in the third and fourth quarter.”
Denbow said with the OCC such a close race this season, the Arrows will do their best to rally during the final part of the season.
“This is the most crazy year I’ve seen in the OCC,” he said. “Anybody on any given night can lose, so we just have to put our best game forward every single game. I think we can pull some wins out later in the year.”
This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Ashland boys hoops rallies to defeat Madison in overtime
