The Mexico boys were already staying up late, but they didn’t know it would take until Sunday morning to earn the victory.
In the 48 Hours of Basketball Springfield event against Class 3 …
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The Mexico boys were already staying up late, but they didn’t know it would take until Sunday morning to earn the victory.
In the 48 Hours of Basketball Springfield event against Class 3 No. 3 Strafford (now No. 2 in latest poll), the Class 4 No. 6 (now No. 5) Bulldogs beat the Indians in three overtimes 85-82 in a game that began at 10 p.m. at Greenwood Laboratory School in Springfield.
Anthony Shivers led Mexico (5-1) with 29 points, four 3-pointers and four assists to counter the 35 points poured in by 6-foot-5 reigning all-state player AK Rael from Strafford (3-1). Shivers was named the MVP, capping his performance with an and-one layup on a ball he took coast to coast to give Mexico an 80-77 lead in the third overtime. Freshman Charlie Fisher hit a free throw and added a layup to help seal the victory.
The Bulldogs forced 27 turnovers and turned them into 28 points while Strafford outrebounded Mexico on the offensive glass 21-9 for 22 second-chance points.
DJ Long followed Shivers on the scoreboard with 22 points, four assists and two steals, Jordan Shelton added 15 points and four steals, Jaydon Eldridge knocked down two 3-pointers as part of his nine points, and Donye Nunnelly finished with two steals.
Mexico outshot Strafford with a 48.3 field goal percentage compared to a 41.7 percentage, going ahead 29-24 at halftime. The Bulldogs lost their lead after the third quarter as they were down 44-41 after three quarters but forced overtime then another and then one more. The Bulldogs outscored Strafford 10-7 in the third overtime period.
Mexico (1-0 NCMC) played its home opener on Tuesday night against North Central Missouri Conference foe Kirksville (3-1, 1-0 NCMC) before going to Hannibal for a 7:30 p.m. game on Thursday.