ELGIN — Riverside scored the first 10 points of the game, but it was the last points that mattered most as the Wolfpack boys came-from-behind to win an overtime thriller 68 to 64.
Ice-cold from outside the three-point line, Elgin Public-Pope John fought back by working the ball inside, making it a four-point game at halftime.
Then, in the second half, they kept the score close till late in regulation where they put together a run to tie the score at 59-all.
Two free throws by Riverside’s Charlie Keehn gave the Chargers a 55 to 50 lead with 2:39 left in the game. That’s when Paiton Hoefer went to work. He scored eight of the Wolfpack’s nine points down the stretch to tie the score with 1.3 seconds left in regulation.
In overtime, sophomore Gage Thiessen gave EPPJ the lead with a putback. Then, after Hoefer fouled out, Austin Good took over. He had two field goals, the last giving EPPJ a 66 to 62 lead with under a minute to play. Thiessen and Dylon Lueking then added free throws sandwiched around a Riverside basket, to make the score 68 to 64. For the complete story turn to this week’s Edition of the Elgin Review.
