In a tightly, contested battle between College Park and Miramonte, the Falcons pulled it out in overtime 73-70. It was in large part, because of junior guard Zyon Pullin, who scored 31 points for College Park.
The game got really interesting with two minutes minutes left and the Falcons up by two points. Both teams were exchanging baskets. No one on Miramonte could stop Pullin, while Miramonte’s Brandon Betson was getting to the hole with ease. With about 20 seconds left, Miramonte held the lead. With the ball, guard Diego Paredes missed a three-pointer to win the game, however Michel Curtain was there for the put-back to send the game to overtime.
“It was a great play from Michael and that gave us momentum going into overtime," said College Park coach Craig Battle.
In overtime, Pullin continued to draw contact and get to the line, where he converted his free throws. Miramonte has one last look, on a desperation three by Nikhil Shastri that fell short, allowing the Falcons to come out with the three-point overtime win.
“We played well but we didn’t make enough plays in overtime," said Miramonte coach Wayne Hunter.
This game was close from the beginning. Halfway through the first quarter, College Park had taken a 15-12 lead over Miramonte, thanks to three-pointers from Danny La Fortune and Pullin. Miramonte, however, finished the first quarter on a 5-0 run to take a 17-15 lead after one quarter.
In the second, College Park started to hit its rhythm again, shooting the ball well, but turnovers forced by the Matadors' defense sent the teams to the locker room tied at 34.
At one point in the second half, the College Park swelled to eight points, but Miramonte quickly the lead to two points by the end of the third quarter, and the teams were back-and-forth in the fourth quarter.
In addition to Pullin’s 31 points, College Park also had senior guard La Fortune in double figures with 13 points. Miramonte had four players in double figures, led by Brandon Betson with 21 points. Andrew Logan had 13, Nikhil Shastri had 11 and Jayson Fernbacher had 10 points and five assists.
