Indians rally for overtime win

With the regular season winding down, the Comanche boys basketball team got a boost with a 48-46 overtime win over the visiting Lindsay Leopards on Friday night.

The win not only snapped a five-game losing streak but also snapped a three-game losing streak against the Leopards dating back to last season. The Feb. 7 win by the Indians came exactly a month after Lindsay beat Comanche by 15 points on Jan. 7.

“We’ve had teams see us a certain way and they’re scouting us and thinking our guard play is not very good,” said Anthony Bowie, head coach. “ They think we can’t score and they’re we’re not very structured or organized, but that’s one thing we’ve been focusing on and we are repping in practice every single day. We knew them well and what they were going to do by blitzing our guys, trapping us and pressing us and that’s pretty much what it came down to. We had a game plan and our guys did a good job of executing it.”

The last time the two teams met, Comanche had built an early double-digit lead only to see Lindsay surge back and the Indians could find no answers.

This time, the Indians fell behind early and made the comeback for the win. They trailed 15-6 at the end of the first quarter and 28-24 at halftime.

Brycen Lassley gave Comanche the lead the first time in the game with under two minutes to go in the third, but Lindsay scored the final four points to take a 35-33 lead into the fourth quarter.

There were five lead changes and two ties in the fourth. The Leopards held a 44-42 lead with under a minute to go before Jonathan Alvarez scored with 20 seconds left to tie the game and send it into overtime. Alvarez came off the bench to score seven of his 11 points in the quarter from his post position.

The Leopards took a 46-44 lead in overtime before Comanche’s Jiovanni Demry, who had not hit a three-pointer in regulation, found the bottom of the bucket with 50 seconds remaining in overtime that would give the Indians the lead for good with a 47-46 advantage. Easton Bowen would hit one of two free throws with three seconds left to make it a two-point game. The Leopards’ last-second desperation shot missed the mark, setting off a celebration in the home stands and on the bench.

After a close first quarter, Lindsay took control in the second quarter and never gave it up. 

The Leopardettes built a double-digit lead and never allowed Comanche to make a big run to close the gap, answering almost every Comanche bucket.

Lindsay led 22-12 at the half and 33-22 at the end of the third.

Comanche got as close as eight points in the fourth quarter, but the Leopardettes would pull away in the final minutes.