Andy Close
OIL CITY, Pa. – Oil City closed the game on a 9-0 run, capped by an Ethen Knox bucket with 15.5 seconds remaining to earn a big 44-42 Region 6 win over Warren.
Warren (12-3 overall, 2-2 Region 6) led 40-35 after three quarters and went up 42-35 on Konnor Hoffman’s bucket early in the fourth. Those would be their last points of the game, however.
Sayyid Donald knocked down a pair of shots from the charity stripe, Chase Melat made a layup and an old-school 3-point play from Donald tied the game at 42-all with about five minutes to play.
Warren attempted to play keep away, holding the ball until just over a minute to play when they forced the Dragons into a turnover.
After Knox’s shot, the teams traded turnovers, with Warren getting the ball back with 0.7 seconds remaining. The Dragons found Braylon Barnes in the corner for 3, but the shot was off the mark and the Oilers (13-3, 4-0) came away with the win.
The loss was the second in region play for the Dragons that came in the final seconds, as they lost at Franklin on Jalen Wood’s jumper with five seconds to play.
Will McMahon had 15 points to lead Oil City, while Donald had 11 and Knox nine.
Brady Berdine led Warren with 15 points, while Hoffman had nine and Tommy Nyquist eight.
