SYCAMORE (Crawford County Now) — Two players came off the bench to provide a spark, including 13 points, as Colonel Crawford defeated Mohawk for the second time this season, again in overtime, 60-56.

The win gives the Eagles (18-1, 13-0) the outright Northern 10 Athletic Conference title by virtue of its hard-fought victory here Wednesday night.

“Coach (David) Sheldon was telling me, ‘Be ready. Be ready.’ It comes back to one possession at a time. Everyone has a role on the team. My role is handling the ball and making big shots,” said senior Lucas Foy.

Foy calmly sank a pair of free throws with 17.4 seconds to play in the OT period to give the visitors a 59-56 lead. After a Mohawk missed a three, Brayden Holt added a free throw of his own to secure the league crown.

Not bad for a former ball boy who grew up around the program with a goal of playing at the varsity level.

“I’m blessed to have Brayden Holt and Parker Weithman out there with me. You’ve got three great point guards out there to be able to handle the ball. It’s not a one-man show. It takes five of us out there,” Foy said.

It definitely wasn’t a solo performance. In addition to Foy’s four points and smart ball handling:

  • Holt went off for a game-high 23 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 7 steals.
  • Parker Weithman added 9 points on three 3s and collected 6 rebounds.
  • Payne DeGray and Logan Goddard contributed 9 points each. DeGray added 9 boards.

“Mohawk is an unbelievable team; a great team and so well coached,” Sheldon said of the Warriors. “That’s what two very good basketball teams do. They battled and once again it took 36 minutes. We were very fortunate to get out of Sycamore with a W.

“I’m proud of our guys. We talk about one possession at a time. We got up and they made a run and that’s what good teams do. Then they got up and then we made a run. Late in the game we kept our composure.”

The first run came after a 9-9 tie when Crawford went on a 7-0 run and appeared to be pulling away, leading 16-9 after one quarter.

The Warriors (17-2, 11-2) were led by Boomer Cleveland’s 20 points, including 12 from beyond the arc. Cleveland added 5 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal.

“Brayden is an unbelievable player. He’s hard to guard, and credit to them for getting the ball to him time after time. Our kids did their best and worked their entire careers for this community and the red, black, and white,” head coach Paul Dunn said.

Getting out of the early hole came as no surprise, even though it hadn’t happened previously.

“We’ve got a senior-laden team. We hadn’t been in that situation early, but our kids stayed the course. We had to adjust to how they were guarding us early. Once we finally did, Boomer knocked down some shots and we settled ourselves down at halftime.”

The Eagles led 24-20 at halftime but Mohawk came back to lead 35-29 after three quarters as it outscored Colonel Crawford 15-5.

“It was a total team effort. In the overtime I look at Lucas Foy and say, ‘Hey, we take the lead, you got to go.’ With the lead we go four corners. Then he steps up to the line and makes two free throws and has been sitting on the bench,” Sheldon said.

Cleveland drained a 3 to open the fourth quarter, scoring 9 in that frame. That put the hosts ahead 38-29.

Weithman answered with a 3 and teams traded leads until Holt hit a floater to put the Eagles in front 44-43 with 2:02 remaining in regulation.

Cleveland scored as did Kahne Hayman to again put the Warriors up, 48-46, with under a minute to play. John DeGray scored after a Holt steal as Colonel Crawford tied the game at 48.

Connor Flood added 13 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks for Mohawk.

“Connor takes it personal. He has to guard Payne DeGray and Payne’s a load,” Dunn said.

“He works so hard and that’s why I feel so sad for our kids. Boomer does so much for us. He guarded Holt probably 70 percent of the game. To do that on offense when you’re guarding a player of Holt’s caliber says a lot about his conditioning.”

The overtime began with Holt and Hunter Haynes trading baskets. But Weithman hit another 3 and Payne DeGray got loose inside on another pass from Holt that put the Eagles up 55-53 with 1:45 on the clock.

Foy made his two foul shots, then Holt converted on 1-of-2 FTs with 5.5 seconds remaining. Goddard stole the inbounds pass on Mohawk’s final possession to preserve the win and the N10 crown.

“Payne and John were as sick as a dog and the toughness to play through that epitomizes the toughness of this team and what a 14-game journey is all about,” Sheldon said.

“We work on this and it’s just not panicking. We had some good rotations and got stops when the game was on the line.”

Colonel Crawford hosts Wynford Friday night before taking on New London the Division VI sectional final Feb. 21.

“Four out of five years winning a league championship and that’s so tough to do. Over 3 months you’re going to have sprained ankles. You’re going to have sickness; all the ebbs and flows of the season.

“It’s our 28th championship in 19 years and to win it outright is special. This is something guys will remember the rest of their lives,” Sheldon said.

Several goals remain on the Eagles’ to-do list.

“We say the goal number one is an N10 championship. Goal number two is the sectional championship and then on down the road,” he added. “This team is so level-headed. They get a win and the next day it’s time to go back to work. They’ll be ready tomorrow to go back to work.”

Mohawk hosts Seneca East to close league play Friday night and takes on Northwood in Division VI sectional on Tuesday.

Colonel Crawford won the junior varsity game, 31-18. Wyatt Spiegel had 12 points and Peyton Baker 9.

Box score

Colonel Crawford     16        8         5       19       12 — 60

Mohawk                         9      11      15       13         8 — 56

Colonel Crawford (18-1, 13-0 N10): Shots 23-37; 3-pt. shots 8-15 (Logan Goddard 3, Parker Weithman 3, Brayden Holt 2); Free throws 6-8; Rebounds 26 (Payne DeGray 9); Turnovers 5. Scoring: Logan Goddard 3 0 9, Parker Weithman 3 0 9, John DeGray 3 0 6, Lucas Foy 1 2 4, Brayden Holt 10 1 23, Payne DeGray 3 3 9.

Mohawk (17-2, 11-2 N10): Shots 20-51; 3-pt. shots 8-21 (Boomer Cleveland 4, Kahne Hayman 2, Ben Bogner 2); Free throws 8-9; Rebounds 24 (Kahne Hayman 8, Connor Flood 7); Turnovers 6. Scoring: Kahne Hayman 3 0 8, Ben Bogner 2 0 6, Kaleb Bish 2 0 4, Boomer Cleveland 6 4 20, Hunter Haynes 1 3 5, Connor Flood 6 1 13.

JV: Colonel Crawford 31-18.