BUDA — Boerne-Champion left Hays no other option but to win Tuesday night.
Earlier in the night, the Chargers beat the Rebels’ rival (Lehman) to assure themselves at least a play-in game for the final playoff spot out of District 27-4A. If Hays wanted to meet Champion in the winner-take-all affair, it had to beat second-place Kerville-Tivy.
Four quarters weren’t enough to decide a winner between the Antlers and Rebels, neither were two overtime periods. By the time the game ended, Hays and Tivy traded 44 minutes worth of blows.
At the end of the third overtime, the Rebels celebrated a thrilling 66-61 victory. It was Hays’ second consecutive overtime win and put Dean McMullen’s team in position to make a return trip to the Class 4A playoffs.
“As the game got longer, I grew more confident in my guys,” McMullen said. “I knew we’d be in better shape than anybody in the state at this stage of the season, because of our preseason conditioning. These guys worked hard in the offseason in drills and never complained.”
Two Rebels who definitely grew stronger as the game wore on were sophomore guard Nate Alvarado and senior guard Steven Jass.
For the second consecutive game, Alvarado stepped up in crunch time. Alvarado did it with his defense Tuesday night as he notched several big steals and forced two five-second violations in the overtime periods. Last Friday, Alvarado sparked Hays’ win over Lehman with six of his 14 points in the extra stanza.
Jass, one of five Rebels playing in their final home game, scored all but two of his 17 points in the fourth quarter and overtimes. At the end of the second overtime, Jass tied the game with a free throw and in the third, pulled down consecutive offense rebounds and sent home a put-back to give his team a 59-57 lead.
“I didn’t want to go out with a loss,” Jass said. “I had to give it my all and not have any regrets.”
Hays improved to 19-15 overall and 8-6 in district play.