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WYNOT — The Wynot Blue Devils took on the number one seed, the Shelton Bulldogs, at the Devaney Center in their second round matchup on Friday night.
The Blue Devils took the early lead only to see the Bulldogs close the gap at halftime.
The second half would see the Bulldogs complete the comeback, forcing overtime. The game would require three overtime periods, which set a state record in D-2 for the length of a state tournament game. The Bulldogs were finally able to earn the 63-60 win and advanced to play Maywood Hayes Springs in the championship game on Saturday night.
Ashton Simmons had a monster game for the Bulldogs with 21 of his game-high 34 points coming in the fourth quarter and the overtimes.
Riley Bombeck also hit double figures for Shelton with his 11 points.
Zack Foxhoven led Wynot with 19 points before leaving the game with leg cramps in the second overtime period. Dylan Heine and Chase Schroeder each contributed double figures for the Blue Devils with 14 and 12 points respectively.
The Devils jumped out to an early 17-8 lead with a barrage of three pointers. Zack Foxhoven hit twice from long range and Dylan Heine, Carson Wieseler and Andrew Haberman all connected from behind the arc.
Ashton Simmon scored five points and Riley Bombeck drained a three pointer to lead Shelton.
Dylan Heine added five more points to his totals in the second quarter and Zack Foxhoven hit his third trey of the night.
Shelton cut the deficit before halftime thanks in part to three pointers by Ashton Simmons and Gerardo Romero and basket inside by Riley Bombeck but Wynot would maintain a 31-18 halftime advantage.
Shelton would continue to whittle away at the Blue Devils’ lead in the third quarter. Riley Bombeck hit for six points, Ashton Simmons had a pair of baskets and Luke Gillming scored on an offensive putback. Wynot held onto the lead with five more points from Foxhoven and a baseline drive by Kotner Koch as the Blue Devils clung to a 39-32 lead after three periods of play.
Each team would be without a key player for the rest of the game as Wynot lost Carson Wieseler and Shelton lost Riley Bombeck to fouls.
In the fourth quarter, Foxhoven kept the pressure on, hitting for five more points and Andrew Haberman chipped in a three pointer.
The Bulldogs would pin their hopes on Ashton Simmons as they kept the ball in his hands and he would respond with 13 points in the final quarter of regulation to tie the game at 47-47 and send it into overtime.
Each team would score five points in the first overtime. Shelton got a bucket plus one from Simmons and a free throw by Luke Gillming and Wynot countered with a pair of Dylan Heine jumpers and a free throw by Kotner Koch. Wynot had a final shot but missed sending the game into a second overtime still knotted at 52-52.
In the second extra period Wynot lost Foxhoven to leg cramps but Chase Schroeder hit a pair of field goals. Ashton Simmons hit a bucket and a pair of free throws and the game remained tied at 56-56.
