The McLennan Highlanders needed an overtime period to top the Navarro Bulldogs 96-93 on Tuesday night at The Highlands and remain undefeated on the season.
Navarro built a six-point lead midway through the first half, 19-13. McLennan rallied, taking the 28-27 lead with 3:43 to go in the half. The Bulldogs ended the half on a 17-3 run to take the 44-31 advantage at the break.
The Highlanders came out fired up, opening the second half on a 12-3 run to cut the lead to four with 16:19 remaining in the game. Navarro extended the lead to eight, but McLennan rallied again, taking the 67-65 lead with 5:35 to go. The Highlanders extended the lead to eight, 76-68, with 1:49 to play. The Bulldogs trailed by three with 18 seconds to play. Trey Young sank a three for Navarro with 0.7 seconds on the clock to send the game to overtime.
The Highlanders scored 15 points in the extra period, including 6-8 from the free-throw line to seal the win.
Sophomore Ricardo Artis led McLennan with 29 points and sophomore Jalen Jones added 21. Sophomore Jeff Beverly and freshman Alex Mills scored 20 and 12, respectively.
McLennan returns to action on Friday, facing Trinity Valley at 5 p.m. in the Lewis Orr Classic in Corsicana.
Navarro: Byron Smith 2 1-3 5; Jamar Martin 3 0-0 7; Chris Boleware 8 4-10 24; Trey Young 3 0-0 9; Brian Long 1 0-1 2; DaShawn Robinson 8 2-2 22; Derrick Taylor 4 0-0 12; Maika Ostling 1 0-0 2; Wayne Martin 3 3-4 9; Totals: 33 10-20 93.
McLennan: K.J. Boyd 1 2-3 4; Jalen Jones 6 9-11 21; Elijah Mayes 1 1-2 4; Alex Mills 2 7-9 12; Ricardo Artis 7 14-20 29; Jeff Beverly 6 6-6 20; Aundre Jackson 3 0-1 6; Devon Washington 0 0-2 0; Totals: 26 39-54 96
3-pointers: Navarro 14 (Taylor 4, Boleware 3, Young 3, Robinson 3, J. Martin 1), McLennan 4 (Beverly 2, Mays 1, Mills 1); Total fouls: Navarro 34, McLennan 22; Fouled out: Navarro (Smith, Taylor, W. Martin), McLennan (Boyd, Beverly); Halftime score: Navarro 44, McLennan 31; Record: McLennan 6-0.
