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St. Henry's Austin Zimmerman (22) goes up for a shot during Friday's game with Fort Recovery at Redskin Gymnasium. The Redskins defeated the Indians in double overtime.
ST. HENRY - It took all of 40 minutes inside of Redskin Gymnasium, but the MAC finale between St. Henry and Fort Recovery lived up to the billing.
After a slow start it was seniors Brayden Heath and Jack Huelsman that willed St. Henry (16-6) to a 74-69 win in double overtime to beat the Indians (12-10) in the regular season finale.
"That was a fun high school basketball game," St. Henry coach Eric Rosenbeck said postgame. "It's why anybody who coaches these guys loves these guys."
While St. Henry was forced to wait, the Fort Recovery offense came out on fire in the opening quarter. Hudson Overman's six points paced the team early, and the Indians led 15-12 after eight minutes.
A 6-0 Redskins run to open the second quarter gave them a slight 18-15 lead, but Grant Fortkamp's three free-throws tied it right back up and silenced the gym. A Huelsman trey put the Skins back on top 21-18 as the senior scored nine of his 21 points in the quarter.
A Brody Barga and-one started a 5-0 run for Fort Recovery to make it a 26-21 game. St. Henry fought back to trim it to a two-point game by the break. Charlie Werling's three at the horn pushed the score to 31-29, and sparked some juice in the building.
That juice was not there in the third quarter however. The Indians came out of the locker room red-hot from the floor. Overman got a layup to fall to open the quarter, which was followed by back-to-back threes from Colson Post and Overman to grow the Indian's lead to 41-34.
Fort Recovery's Hudson Overman drives towards the basket.
After a miss from St. Henry, Overman was the beneficiary of an inbound play and the forward nailed his fourth trey of the quarter. It was a double-digit lead for Fort Recovery, and Rosenbeck called timeout with 3:38 left in the third quarter.
Austin Zimmerman halted the run with a layup for St. Henry out of the break. Tate Boeckman then fought for a put-back to make it a six-point game with two minutes to go in the quarter.
Just when it was looking good for the Redskins, Overman struck again from deep to make it 47-38. He scored 11 points in the quarter, and Fort Recovery took a 47-43 lead into the fourth.
The fourth quarter started and so did the St. Henry offense. Werling's put-back and a three from Huelsman put the hosts on top 48-47. It was their first lead since it was a 21-18 game in the second quarter.
A pair of charity stripe shots from Huelsman grew the St. Henry lead to 50-47 with 5:41 left. A miss from Fort Recovery allowed Heath to grow the lead off a screen, and the guard's shot was true. After trailing 44-34 in the third, a 19-3 run gave the Redskins the lead and it looked like they were going to pull it out in the end.
Fort Recovery had no interest in taking the bus ride home however. After Heath made it a 58-52 game, Overman was called up to save the Indians. He got three the old-fashioned way, and the game sat at 58-55. Breaker Jutte's only two points of the game later in the quarter made it 60-57, and Brayden Dilworth tied the game at 60 the next time up the floor with 1:24 left.
St. Henry held for the final shot, but Huelsman's driving layup couldn't find the net, and overtime was coming.
It was again looking like the Redskins would survive early in the frame. Heath scored four points in the four minute period, and gave his team a 64-61 lead with 46 seconds left.
Overman had an answer. He earned a trip to the line and cut it to 64-63, and eventually tied the game at 66-all with a three that was almost a two. The referee conference deemed his foot behind the arc, and the game went to a second overtime.
The key for St. Henry in the period was containing the Indians' point leader in Overman, who was up to 27 points on the night. He was held scoreless in the final frame, allowing the Redskins to get a lead.
St. Henry's Brayden Heath (11) drives towards the basket against Fort Recovery.
Brayden Heath was the go-to for the hosts in the second overtime. The guard scored all eight of his team's points in the four-minute period, with four coming from the line. He gave the Redskins a 68-67 lead with 3:10 left.
After Post put the Indians back on top from the line, Heath followed suit and nailed a pair of his own freebies. The score sat at 70-69 with 1:32 on the clock. Fort Recovery looked Fortkamp's way the next possession, but the shot was off and St. Henry corralled the rebound.
Heath got the ball the next possession, and drove to the hoop for a layup to make it 72-69 with 50 seconds left. Two chances game the Indians' way, but Post's three from the corner was off and St. Henry eventually held on to their five-point win.
"That was a MAC battle," Fort Recovery coach Bob Leverette said. "We just had to make some plays down the stretch. They did, we didn't, it was a great game."
After what probably felt like a playoff game, St. Henry has its tournament game next when Lima Perry travels to Redskin gymnasium on Feb. 27. The team was led by Heath's 22 points, while Huelsman finished with 21.
"I love our seniors, I love the class of 2026. For Brayden Heath to ask me if he could give up his jersey so Kale Schwartz could start, that's why I love him," Rosenbeck said of his guard.
For Fort Recovery the loss extends an unfortunate 1-4 streak to end their regular season. The Indians host Covington on Feb. 26 in their own tournament contest.
