By Cort Reynolds

The Bluffton High School boys basketball team executed an epic fourth quarter rally to force an eventual double-overtime thriller against backyard rival Allen East in Div. III sectional semifinal action at the Elida Fieldhouse Wednesday night, February 22.

The Pirates then outscored AE in the second overtime 17-6, primarily from the foul line, to complete an improbable 78-67 comeback win, with the final margin of victory quite misleading.

Bluffton trailed by 16 points going into the fourth period, but rallied to tie it with a 27-11 flurry.

Including the overtimes, the Pirates outscored the Mustangs 50-23 after the third period. Bluffton scored 14 of its 17 points in the second OT at the charity stripe.

Both rivals came into the evenly-matched fray with identical 14-8 records.

The game was tied 3-3 early, but AE outscored the Pirates 10-4 the rest of the first period and held the lead until the final seconds of regulation.

A rare four-point play by Pirate guard Marek Donaldson accounted for the rest of the Bluffton points in the opening quarter.

AE built a 16-7 advantage before Pirate Landen Worcester canned a bank shot to cut it to seven. 

Donaldson completed a conventional three-point play to inch within 16-12.

Mustang Ethan Young responded by hitting a triple.

Wade Ginther canned a bank shot and two foul shots to pull the Pirates within 19-16. 

Jacob Hershberger canned a driving shot, followed by a banker from Deacon Jones to put AE back on top, 23-16. Carson Soper split two foul shots.

Mustang Caleb Hopkins sank a mid-range shot. A post-up basket by southpaw Pirate post John-Paul Yoder sliced the AE lead to 25-19 at intermission.

Mustang Keaton Lehman rimmed a shot in to open the second half. A Hopkins layup extended the margin to 29-19. A Hershberger foul shot put AE in front by 11.

Keaton Miller drained a left wing triple, followed by a triple from Soper to make it 33-22 at the 5:30 mark. Hopkins tipped in a three-point miss to restore the lead to 13.

Terron Boblitt sank a mid-range shot for the Pirates. A Lehman left-hander put the Mustangs ahead by 13. Lehman bounced in another two-pointer with 1:50 to go in the third period to put AE on top 39-24.

Soper canned a long triple to cut the margin to a dozen. Brady Shea canned a putback to make it 41-27. Worcester split two foul shots to slice the deficit to 13.

Lehman then tossed in a three-pointer at the third-period buzzer to give AE a lift and a 44-28 bulge heading to the final stanza.

Soper made one of two foul shots to open the fourth quarter.

Wade Ginther sank a 10-footer to make it 44-31, prompting an AE timeout. A steal and follow basket edged thw Pirates within 11.

Ginther completed an old-fashioned three-point play as second team All-NWC AE playmaker Carson Clum fouled out on the play. 

The Bluffton 8-0 run to start the fourth quarter was ended by a key Keaton Miller basket. Two Ginther foul shots were answered by Miller's driving basket. Donaldson drained a triple to inch within 48-41 with just under five minutes still remaining.

A Pirate trapping zone press bothered AE in the final period.

Soper sank a triple and was fouled with 4:31 left to play. He completed the four-pointer to get Bluffton within 48-45. Hershberger canned the second of two free throws.

After a Pirate steal, another three-pointer capped a 20-5 fourth period flurry that inched the Pirates within 49-48. 

Miller bounced in two foul shots, followed by a Ginther free toss. AE freshman Deacon Jones hit two free throws to make it 53-49 with 90 seconds left.

Worcester canned a basket after a timeout on a backdoor cut down the left baseline with 64 ticks to go. Leaman was fouled and missed, but got his own rebound. His follow shot missed and the Pirates grabbed the carom.

Worcester tied it 53-53 on a backside basket with under 20 seconds remaining. Bluffton stole the ball, Soper was fouled and he gave them their first lead of the game by making both shots with 16.8 seconds left.

AE missed and Ginther rebounded, but he was called for traveling. Miller took an in-bounds pass from Hershberger on a cut down the lane, and laid in a shot at the buzzer to force the first overtime.

The Pirates scored 27 points in the fourth quarter after amassing just a combined 28 over the first three periods. Seven costly AE turnovers in the final stanza aided the comeback. 

Hopkins scored off a long pass for a three-point AE advantage. A Pirate foul shot cut it to 58-56. Terron Boblitt then sank a triple to put the Pirates back on top, 59-58.

Two Soper foul shots provided Bluffton a three-point lead, but Leaman tied it again on a triple. A controversial double-foul call on a block/charge collision retained possession for Bluffton.

A Pirate turnover gave AE possession with 34 seconds left. The Mustangs held for the last shot, but missed to force a second extra session.

Boblitt canned a corner trey 50 seconds into the second OT toput Bluffton on top. Jones hit a left-handed shot to make it 64-63. Soper canned two foul shots. Miller was fouled on a drive and missed two charity stripers.

Boblitt canned two free throws to give the Pirates their biggest lead at 68-63. Jones missed a three, Boblitt rebounded and was fouled at the 2:17 mark. He made one of two for a six-point bulge.

Miller split two foul shots. Ginther hit a foul shot for a 70-64 lead with 1:32 left. Jones split two charity stripers to inch within five. 

Donaldson drained six straight foul shots, sandwiched around a driving basket by Jones. A Boblitt free throw helped extend the lead to the final margin of 11.

Soper led the Pirates with 20 points, while Donaldson netted 19. Boblitt scored 12 late key points. Ginther tallied 13 markers, and Worcester added 10.

With the unlikely comeback win, Bluffton improved to 15-8 amd kept its season alive.  

AE ended its campaign 14-9 after the gut-wrenching loss.

Miller topped AE with 18 points, while Lehman scored 16 points. Jones tallied a dozen, while Hopkins added 11 markers.

Bluffton won despite connecting on just 19 of 56 field goal tries (34 percent). The Pirates netted 10 baskets inside the arc on 27 tries (37 percent), and made nine of 29 three-point goal attempts (31 percent). 

Bluffton converted 31 of a whopping 42 shots from the foul line (74 percent) to win the game at the stripe.

AE canned 24 of 55 overall shots (44 percent) from the field. The Mustangs splashed 17 of 36 two-point goals (47 percent) and drained seven of 19 treys (37 percent). 

AE converted 12 of 21 from the charity stripe (57 percent).

The Pirates outscored AE 31-12 at the foul line, a difference of 19 points. 

The Pirates committed just nine turnovers, and AE was guilty of 15 miscues - including 10 in the fourth period and overtimes.  

The Pirate comeback win was very reminiscent of the 61-54 Bluffton win over AE 12 days prior. 

In that game at Harrod, the Pirates rallied from nine points down entering the fourth period to win behind a 22-6 final stanza run.

AE 67 (14-9)

Clum 0, Hershberger 1 3-6 5, Miller 5 6-10 18, Lehman 7 0-1 16, Shea 1 0-0 2, Hopkins 5 1-2 11, Young 1 0-0 3, Hensley 0 0-0 0, Jones 4 3-4 12. 

Totals: 24-55/12-21/67. 3-pointers (7-19): Lehman 2, Young 1, Miller 2, Jones 1.

Bluffton 78 (15-8)

Donaldson 4 8-8 19, L. Ginther 0 0-0 0, Soper 3 11-16 20, W. Ginther 2 7-9 13, Worcester 3 3-3 10, Boblitt 3 4-6 12, Wright 0 0-0 0, Yoder 1 0-0 2, Hilty 1 0-0 2.

Totals: 19-56/31-42/78. 3-pointers (9-29): Donaldson 3, Boblitt 2, Soper 3, Worcester 1.

1 2 3 4 OT OT F

AE 13 12 19 11 6 6 67

Bluf 7 12 9 27 6 17 78

The Pirates advance to play seventh seed LCC (11-11) Friday, February 24 at 7:30 p.m. in the Div. III sectional finals at Elida.

The Thunderbirds beat eighth seed Coldwater (10-13) in the second sectional semifinal at Elida Wednesday night, 57-49.

Sectional winners move on to the Lima Senior district March 1.

Ottawa-Glandorf is the top seed, with Spencerville second. Carey  third and Liberty-Benton fourth in the 13-team sectional.