CHANUTE, Kan. — For the second straight night, the Carthage Tigers earned a statement victory.
Carthage took control as soon as overtime arrived, and the Tigers knocked off Andover Central 62-54 on Thursday night at the 50th Ralph Miller Classic.
Andover Central entered the night ranked first in Kansas’ Class 5A.
The win comes one night after the Tigers beat state-ranked Shawnee Mission South in double overtime.
Thursday’s pool play clash was tied at 47 at the end of regulation.
Carthage scored the first seven points of the extra session, as Clay Kinder hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key before Max Templeman put in four straight, a drive through the lane and two free throws.
The Tigers would never relinquish the lead in OT.
Carthage improved to 14-2.
Templeman scored 19 points to lead the Tigers, while Kinder had 17 points and Joel Pugh added 10.
Kobe Smith scored 24 points to lead Andover Central.
Neither team could pull away during regulation.
Hoops from Pugh and Templeman gave Carthage a 16-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.
A back and forth second period was deadlocked at 25 when Carthage’s Tyler Willis scored inside, giving the Tigers a two-point cushion at halftime.
A jumper from Justin Ray, a trey from Pugh and two charities from Templeman gave Carthage a 39-32 lead at the end of the third period.
In the fourth quarter, the Tigers led 43-35 after four straight points from Kinder, but the Jaguars scored seven straight to trim their deficit to one with 1:51 left.
Kinder sank two foul shots, but Andover Central’s Skyler Clevenger hit a game-tying 3-pointer with just over a minute to play.
Both teams had empty possessions down the stretch and the game went into overtime.
The Tigers outscored the Jaguars 15-7 in overtime.
Carthage will take on Bishop Miege at 6 p.m. on Saturday in the tourney championship game. Bishop Miege is ranked third in Class 4A.
