Saturday February 12th, in New York's Mayhem League, The Gotham Titans defeated Premier 60 - 58 in a come from behind triple overtime win to clinch a playoff spot.
In an aggressively defensive battle that sometimes resembled a rugby game, Premier Burton scratched and clawed their way back in regulation, finally hitting a three in the final seconds to force overtime against the Gotham Titans who were playing without an injured Xavier Bala. In each of the ensuing two overtimes, the pattern repeated itself with Premier hitting clutch deep shots as time expired to continue to force more extra periods. In the third and final overtime period, with Premier busting out to a 6 point lead with a minute remaining, the game seemed to have finally met it's conclusion, but the Titans stepped up yet again to force extra possessions and close the gap. Down 1 point with 6 seconds remaining, MVP of the game Dylan Santucci (pictured below) beat his man to the basket and was fouled with 1 second remaining, needing 1 free throw to tie the game, 2 to win. After calmly hitting the first, the second shot rimmed out only to be gathered adeptly by Stirling Sloman and put back in for the win as time expired.
In what was certainly the most memorable game of the season for the Titans, standout performances included 19 points from Dylan Santucci and the Mayhem MVP award. Isiah Marino netted 14 points, 5 assists, 4 steals and 7 rebounds in a performance of true heart and determination anchoring the point against an intense and overtly physical defense that applied full court pressure for most of the game. Gerry Metaxas scored 8 points on 75% shooting with two big three pointers. Mateo Morales contributed in every facet of the game, scoring 7 points with 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 4 assists. Stamati Sideridis was again a defensive nightmare for the opposition with 4 blocks, 3 steals and 10 rebounds, to go along with 6 points. Stirling Sloman, who scored the buzzer beating winning shot had 6 points, 2 assists, and 4 offensive rebounds.
Pictured above: Stirling Sloman hits a free throw in the second half
Video below: Final seconds of third overtime
Comments