Story by Dale Barger
The Arcanum Trojans opened up their first round of sectional tournament play at Tipp City taking on the Carlisle Indians. Carlisle entered as the number 4 seed and a 16-4 overall record while Arcanum came in at the 12 seed with a 13-7 record.

In the opening stanza both teams had very little trouble scoring. Senior Travis Binkley got the Trojans going with the first basket on a dribble drive and followed it up with a three to jump-start the Trojans 5-2.

Carlisle kept it close with Braxton Campbell penetrating for scores but the Trojans would find success inside with Benton Balsbaugh for six points in the paint as they jumped out to a 19-12 first quarter lead.

In the second period the Indians did a little damage of their own inside as they work the high low well to their big man Kyle England. England was able to work for 10 of his game high 23 points in the frame as the Indians worked their way to a halftime lead 32-30. Arcanum was outscored 20-11 in the frame.

In the third quarter Arcanum was having trouble getting the ball into Balsbaugh and Carlisle defended well on the ball taking away any outside attempts. Freshman Austin Bruner would step forward going for 8 points in the quarter but the Indians were able to build on their lead going up 48-31 to end the third.

Carlisle opened the fourth period scoring quickly inside with England to take their largest lead of the night 50-41 and Coach Brian Gunter had seen enough calling a timeout.

Arcanum responded first Bruner scored inside, then Binkley stole the ball in a full court press and dished to Clint Hale for a lay-up. Another forced turnover by the Arcanum defense led to a two Balsbaugh free throws and the Trojan were nipping away at the lead trailing 50-47.

A free throw by Campbell gave the Indians a 4-point lead with 5:00 minutes to play.

Then it happened a game changing event as Austin Bruner was fouled inside on the shot an unhappy Kyle England batted the ball into the stands in frustration prompting the official to assess a technical foul.

The play did two things; slapped the 3rd and 4th foul on England sending the post player to the bench… and Bruner calmly sank the two shot foul and two shot technical. On the ensuing possession Clint Hale was fouled and he made one of two throws a just like that a 5-point play turned into a one-point lead for the Trojans 52-51.

Both teams would battle back and forth and with Arcanum holding a 61-59 lead with just a few ticks left on the clock a missed shot by Carlisle was tipped in at the buzzer in regulation by Jacob Parks sending the game into overtime.

In overtime Arcanum got out to a five-point lead with one minute left to play 68-63 on a Bruner free throw. Carlisle would then charge down the floor get into the paint and score two with just 5 seconds leaving the clock. This trend would continue for the remainder of the game as Arcanum would make one-of-two free throws and Carlisle answered with two till then finally closed to one point 72-71 with 22 seconds to play.

Hale stepped to the line and made one-of-two again for Arcanum but this time Carlisle was unable to repeat the pattern and fouled Hale again… this time Hale was able to lock it down netting both throws.

A meaningless tip in basket with one second to play made the final score 75-73 and the Arcanum Trojans outlasted the Carlisle Indians in overtime.

The win put Arcanum into round two facing the #10 seed Dayton Christian at Tipp City on Monday February 18, at 6pm.

Afterwards an elated Coach Gunter said, “It basically came down to who had the ball last. They are a great basketball team and we outlasted them. “This was a great win for Arcanum, our staff, our players and community.” “We are anxious to get back in the gym and start preparing for Dayton Christian”, concluded Gunter.

Score by QUARTERS.......Q1....Q2....Q3....Q4....OT....Final
Arcanum (14-7) .............19....11.....11.....20....14......75
Carlisle (16-5) ...............12....20.....16.....13....12......73

Individual Scoring
Arcanum
Hale - 21
Balsbaugh - 20
Binkley - 11
Bruner - 21
Means - 1
Paulus – 1
Totals – 75

Carlisle
England – 23
Fugate – 6
Campbell – 19
Stanton – 3
Parks – 12
Bishop – 6
Smith – 4
Totals – 73

Field Goal Shooting
Arcanum
25-43 2pointers, 2 - 9 3pointers - total 27-51 52.9%
21-for-35 free throws for 60%
Three points goals Binkley and Hale
Team Rebounds 28
Rebounding Balsbaugh 9, Means 7, Bruner 5
Turnovers 11

Carlisle
30-52 (57.6%) from field and 11-13 (85%) from the FT Line
Team Rebounds Carlisle 29
Turnovers 12
3 point goals - none