After losing late lead in regulation, Yorkville tops Sycamore in OT to win Strombom title

SYCAMORE – With 14.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter and a seven-point lead, Yorkville appeared to be moments away from winning the Leland G. Strombom Holiday Tournament championship Saturday.

But Sycamore pulled off an improbable rally, scoring seven points to tie the game during the last 14 ticks of regulation.

The Spartans then jumped out to a four-point lead in the first minute of overtime.

Led by junior Gabe Sanders’ three baskets, the Foxes regrouped to pull out a 63-61 win to take home the tournament championship.

“A huge amount of resilience from our group,” Yorkville coach John Holakovsky said. “To blow a seven-point lead with 15 seconds left, then come back after going four down in overtime, it a huge heart and character win for our team.”

After a putback by Sycamore’s Jakob Shipley narrowed Yorkville’s fourth quarter lead to 55-48, the Foxes were assessed a technical foul on a delay of game call. Unique Shaw sank both free throws to cut Yorkville’s lead to five.

The Spartans quickly inbounded the ball from underneath the basket and into the hands of Isaiah Feuerbach in the right corner. The junior sank his fifth 3-pointer of the night to make it a two-point game. Feuerbach led all scorers with 25 points.

Yorkville (3-0) turned the ball over and a hurried Sycamore shot missed the mark. Xander Lewis grabbed the rebound and made a putback to tie the game as time expired.

Two Feuerbach free throws at the 3:17 mark of overtime put the Spartans up 59-55. Sanders sank a trey from the left wing followed by a baseline layup to return the lead to the Foxes, 60-59. The junior reserve led Yorkville scorers with 19 points.

With 1:41 left, Josiah Mitchell scored, returning the lead to Sycamore. Sanders responded with a layup to put the Foxes back on top for good.

“My teammates were able to find me for the 3 and I was able to drive the lane,” Sanders said about his three overtime baskets.

A Braydon Porter free throw scored Yorkville’s final point. The freshman came off the bench and scored 10 points and hauled down seven rebounds.

“It was a roller coaster of emotions. We just wanted to make sure we kept fighting until the buzzer goes off. They did a good job of putting us into a position to win,” Sycamore coach Ethan Franklin said.

Sycamore (2-1) scored the first nine points of the game and led 14-11 at the end of the first quarter. The Spartans’ offense went cold at the tail end of the first eight minutes. After a Shipley putback with 1:23 left in the first frame, the Spartans did not score a basket until the 2:17 mark of the second quarter. Yorkville led 26-22 at halftime.

The teams played an evenly matched third quarter. Yorkville scored 18 points to Sycamore’s 19 points to lead 44-41 at the start of the fourth quarter.

Carter York and Shaw scored eight points each for the Spartans.