BETHANY, W.Va. — Hood College’s Santo Provenzano hit a 3-pointer to tie the game with four seconds remaining in overtime, but Bethany’s Josh Polantz nailed a 30-footer that beat the buzzer to give the Bison a dramatic 93-90 win.
The Blazers (10-10) had trailed by as many as 15 points in the second half, but a furious comeback saw them take a 76-74 lead after David Wilson hit a trey with 23 seconds remaining in regulation. That lead was short-lived, however, as the Bison’s Matt Drahos converted a layup to tie game at 76 to send it into an extra session.
In the overtime session, Hood’s fifth such game this season and third in their last four contests, Bethany (15-6) stormed out of the gate to take an 86-80 lead, but, just as they did in the second half, the Blazers regrouped.
Darnell Edmonds, who had 19 points and seven assists, hit a key 3-pointer to help Hood’s resurgence before Provenzano tied the game at 90 with his only trey in the game.
The fiercely battled contest saw the lead change six times and there were five ties, but it was Polantz’s last-second shot that proved to be the difference.
Provenzano led all scorers with a career-high 34 points and Sean Robine had 12. Dennis Tressler chipped in with 11 and David Wilson matched his career-high with 13 boards to go along with nine points.
The Blazers hurt themselves with 26 turnovers that Bethany converted into 32 points. Both teams were deadly from beyond the arc with Hood nailing 11-of-21 attempts—Edmonds hit a career-high five—while the Bison were 10-for-25.
Drahos led Bethany with 21 points and Brandon Duncan had 20 on the strength of five treys.
Brian Morris and Edmonds each had three steals while Duncan had a game-high five picks for Bethany.
Hood gets back in action Wednesday at Keystone College. The Blazers will be going for the season sweep, having already beaten Keystone at home this season, 76-70, on Jan. 15. Tip-off for Wednesday’s game is set for 7 p.m.