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Malo’s 3-pointer lifts Hillsboro past Overton in OT

Hillsboro used a late 3-pointer from Vic Malo in the final minute of overtime to knock off Overton 65-63 Friday night on Coming Home Night for the Burros.

Malo finished with just five points, but his late 3-pointer turned out to be the deciding factor.

“He’s been struggling for weeks, for him to get that shot,” Hillsboro coach Rodney Thweatt said. “He’s been texting me telling me to give him a chance and he was going to be ready. He was ready tonight.”

Kobe Reeves led the way for the Burros with 18 points and John Ford finished with a game-high 20 for the Bobcats.

Hillsboro (13-7, 6-3 12-AAA) and Overton (14-10, 5-5) traded buckets early on to keep the game close, but Malik Parham hit a pair of free throws to give Hillsboro an 11-10 advantage after one quarter.

The two teams continued to match each other shot for shot in the second quarter with neither gaining an upper hand. Overton took a three-point lead, but Donovan Donaldson went down the court, hit a running three and sent the two teams to the locker room tied at 27.

The third quarter remained tight until Hillsboro ended the quarter with another three by Donaldson to close out the third on a 15-2 run and take a 47-37 lead into the fourth.

Overton was down, but not out. The Bobcats clawed their way back to eventually reclaim a 57-56 lead with 23.9 seconds left on a pair of Jonathan Stovall free throws.

Donaldson sank one of two free throws for the Burros to tie the game at 57 with just 7.9 seconds left in regulation. Overton attempted a layup off the ensuing inbound but was unable to capitalize on the game-winning shot, sending the game to overtime.

Overtime continued the back-and-forth affair. With just over a minute left, Dorian Berry nailed two free throws to give Overton a 63-62 lead before Malo nailed his three to give the Burros the lead for good.

“We fought our butts off to get back in the game,” Overton coach James Mckee said. “This district has got a lot of good teams in it, and that was two of them tonight. It’s going to be like that every night in our district.”

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