All the anticipation from both teams erupted into a noticeably intense first quarter. GM Coach Bill Broderick called a timeout three minutes in to calm his team, as Clarke had gone up 8 – 4. In the closing minute of the period, the Mustangs stepped it up on defense, leading to easy buckets. Following a second timeout, sophomore point guard Mike Schwengel (a.k.a. The Professor) was inbounding from below the GM basket. Mene streaked down the court, losing his defender, and Schwengel hit him in stride. Mene caught the pass and converted an old-fashioned three-point play. Later, Alex “Access Code” Goetting made a leaping steal and got it to fellow junior Jack “Bird” Settje, who added another two. Ferocious Mason defense and several turnovers and fouls by Clarke kept the Mustangs close.

Varsity basketball head coach Bill Broderick outlines a play during a time out in the first overtime of Friday’s intense game against Clarke County. That play worked, but the Eagles prevailed in double overtime, 62-61.

The second period began with a score of Clarke 15, Mason 13. However, the speedy Clarke team began to pull away. A scrappy fight led to a 29 – 19 Clarke lead going into halftime.

The Mustangs came out excited and ready for the second half. Settje, who led in scoring for the night, made three three-pointers in the third quarter. Continued strong play by Mason tied the game at 36 going into the final period.

Momentum swung first to Mason as Goetting drew a charge 22 seconds in. In the second minute, Schwengel made an excellent assist to Settje, faking a pass to him, faking a shot, and then going back to Bird all while hanging in the air. The game was still tied with 3:20 to play when Mason took a full timeout. Following this, Mason went to a four-point lead after an amazing reverse lay-up by Settje and a turnaround jumper by Kravalis. Though it looked like Mason would be able to close it out, the game was far from over. Clarke made 2 free throws with 1:42 left and tied it at 46 following a sneaky steal that led to a lay-up. Again, it looked like Mason would be victorious as Greene made a slashing drive to the basket to put the ‘Stangs up by 2. Then, with 17 seconds left, Clarke tied the game on a controversial basket -- the ball bounced off the top of the backboard, then through the net. A large amount of booing ensued, as Mason fans thought that the referees should have ruled the ball out-of-bounds. Following this, the teams called consecutive timeouts and the score stood 57 all. The Mustangs attempted a final play but could not get past Clarke.  The Eagles raced down the court and almost won the game with a jumper, but the shot was waved off since it had gone up after the buzzer had sounded. That meant overtime.

GM won the tip and led first as Settje followed up on a missed free throw by Greene. Clarke stayed close until Greene came up with a steal and took it all the way for a lay-up. On Clarke’s next possession, Kravalis came up with a nice block. The ball was picked up by Schwengel, who fired it down court to Goetting, who made another lay-up. The five-point Mason lead seemed great, but Clarke soon cut it back down quickly with a three and a two. Mason had the ball with 10 seconds left, and Coach Broderick called a timeout to draw up a play. Greene got the ball and slashed to the hoop, putting up a short jumper that seemed to float in the air in slow motion before rimming out. Double Overtime.

Both teams were fighting off fatigue as Mason won the tip again. Schwengel made a lay-up and then an excellent pass to Settje, who was fouled and made both of his free throws. The ‘Stangs fought hard on defense and Goetting again demonstrated his hustle with a high, leaping steal. With 31 seconds to go, the Mustangs were up 60 - 59 and were set to close out the game if they could shut down Clarke one more time. That just was not in the cards. Clarke decided to go for the win, and with 11 seconds left, senior Pete Smetanick made a three-pointer from the left side to put the Eagles up by one point. The Mustangs had one last chance, but could not get a decent shot up.

Settje led all scorers with 27 points. Greene had 11, Goetting 9, and Kravalis 6. Mene, Schwengel, and junior Cody Reynolds had 4, 2, and 2, respectively.