Rebels, Huskies hit clutch shots at the Blue Earth Holiday Tournament

BLUE EARTH — Drama at every turn.

The first-round game of the Blue Earth Holiday Tournament between the United South Central and Jackson County Central boys’ basketball teams had enough plot twists to make fans dizzy.

The Huskies drilled a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer.

The Rebels erased a six-point deficit with 18.3 seconds left in regulation.

The Huskies buried a 3-pointer to take a three-point lead with 25 seconds left in overtime.

The Rebels responded with a 3-pointer of their own with 3.5 seconds left to send the game to double overtime.

In the second overtime, the Huskies hit a layup with 0.4 seconds left to seal a 95-93 win.

“I’m proud of our efforts,” said USC coach Rob Stevermer. “We gave ourselves a chance to win the ballgame. We just didn’t close the deal. It was a tough, hard-fought game, and it’s probably going to be good for us in the long run.”

The Rebels trailed from the opening tip and took their first lead with 2:38 left in the first overtime. USC entered the game with a 7-0 record, and it’s closest game was a 61-57 win over Blooming Prairie.

“We’ve been in a couple of close games but not where we were behind and had to come back, so that was good experience for us hopefully going forward,” Stevermer said.

Despite the loss, USC showed resiliency.

Jackson County Central built a 12-3 lead early in the first half, but the Rebels tied the game at 17 with a 14-5 run.

The Huskies pushed their lead back to three points, and the 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer gave them a 39-33 advantage.

With 10 minutes left in regulation, Jackson County Central led by 10 points, 57-47, but USC fought back.

The Rebels trailed by six points with 18.3 second left when Luke Trio buried a 3-pointer from the left wing. Three seconds later, USC’s Dallas Olson stole the inbounds pass, heaved it to Trio, who made the shot, was fouled and completed the three-point play to tie the game at 72.

The Huskies had a chance to win with 5.2 seconds left but turned the ball over on an errant inbounds pass, and the Rebels were unable to convert so the game went to overtime.

The game was tied at 80 with 25 seconds left in overtime when Jackson County Central’s Joseph Brinkman buried a 3-pointer.

However, the Rebels once again showed resiliency. With 3.5 seconds left, Trevor Stencel nailed a 3-pointer to tie the game and send it to a second overtime.

In the second overtime, USC had its biggest lead of the game 92-87, but Jackson County Central tied it on a 6-1 run and made a layup with 0.4 seconds left to seal the win.

The Rebels had three players who each scored 18 points, which was the game-high: Trio, Brennan Magnuson and Nate Pederson. Magnuson posted a double-double with 18 points, 13 rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

USC (7-1 overall, 2-0 Gopher Conference) will look to rebound against Truman/Martin Luther/Granada-Huntley-East Chain (3-6 overall, 1-2 Valley Conference) at 6 p.m. today.

Last year, USC beat T/ML/G-H-EC 74-36 on Dec. 3 at Truman.

T/ML/G-H-EC lost 58-52 against Blue Earth Monday after USC’s game.

Blue Earth (4-4 overall, 2-2 Big South Conference) will play Jackson County Central (5-4 overall, 1-3 Big South Conference) at 7:45 p.m. today.