RUSSELLVILLE, Mo. - The Linn Wildcats survived a late Tipton rally to claim the Class 2 District 8 Tournament title with a 47-44 overtime victory Saturday afternoon.
After Tipton rallied from seven points down, complete with a game-tying basket with the final seconds ticking off the clock to send the game to overtime, Linn could have caved. That didn't happen.
"I thought, "Oh boy, we might just fall apart,'" Linn head coach Greg Koetting said. "But we were patient. Tony Mebruer made a 2(-pointer) that gave us the lead, and once we had the lead we didn't give it up. We hit three of our four free throws in overtime and allowed one bucket. It was just nice to get out of there with a win. They were scrappy, they didn't quit."
Linn led 13-12 after one quarter before Tipton responded to head into halftime up 25-23. Linn then went up 38-31 after three quarters before the teams went to overtime tied at 42.
"We went on a run in the third quarter," Koetting said. "I think we got up by like nine at one point. Fourth quarter we made a few silly decisions and made some turnovers and missed some free throws. We were 2-of-6 from the free-throw line in the fourth."
Sam Vogel paced Linn with 19 points, including five 3-pointers, and eight rebounds. Jesse Wiggins added 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists, as the Wildcats claimed their first district title since 2009.
"We're pretty excited," Koetting said. "It took us a while to get to the locker room. Everybody was out on the court taking pictures and all of that. They were really excited then. By the time we got to the locker room they were kind of subdued. We had made plans to go eat if we won. So I said, "Let's go eat.'"
Dylan Cooper paced Tipton (19-9) with 14 points.
Koetting believes Linn's grueling schedule - complete with games against Class 3 and 4 schools such as Eugene, Pacific, Blair Oaks and California - prepared the Wildcats for this moment.
"That was cruel," he said. "But it got us ready for districts."
Now Linn (16-11) takes on Father Tolton in the sectional round at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday at Jefferson City High School's Fleming Fieldhouse. Father Tolton defeated Linn 75-59 on Feb. 6 in the Southern Boone Invitational.
"We have our work cut out for us," Koetting said. "Hopefully we can play decent."
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