Neither the Van-Far boys nor their head coach Pat Connaway have been involved with a triple-overtime game before. That changed Saturday night in the Tony Lenzini tournament third-place game in Palmyra when the Indians defeated Monroe City 68-66.
Despite having two points at halftime when Van-Far (11-3) trailed 24-16, Nikos Connaway finished with 31 points, seven steals, six assists and five rebounds to help the Indians bounce back from a 53-51 semifinal loss the day before against Canton. Connaway tweaked his already hurting ankle in that loss but had the go-ahead offensive putback prior to Monroe City (9-6) forcing overtime tied at 52, tied the game at 58 to make a second overtime necessary, put in the go-ahead bucket after a steal before the third overtime happened with the game tied at 60, and then stole the ball again before drawing contact on the other end and hitting the game-winning free throw.
"All of my guys have confidence in me, and I have confidence in myself," Connaway said. "I knew when we needed a bucket, I needed to get in the paint and make a layup."
Head coach Pat Connaway said the Indians showed much better physicality in the second half against Monroe City then they did in the first half or in their tight loss the previous night against Canton. He said Gaven Gaston made some key plays through contact to have six points off the bench, Carter Jennings was definitely physical on his 13 points and eight rebounds, including one on a missed Monroe City free throw that would have tied the game at 67 in the third overtime. Pacey Reading added 10 points and four rebounds.
"It was a good win for us," Pat Connaway said. "I was really pleased that we matched physicality and got a lot more physical. That is stuff that can help us going forward."
Quincy Mayfield and Waylon DeGrave each led Monroe City with 15 points, and Cole Hays followed with 12 points off the bench, including three of the Panthers' 11 3-pointers.
Van-Far begins another tournament next week at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday as the No. 1 seed in the Bowling Green tournament. The Indians face Eastern Missouri Conference and district foe Silex (2-9).
Look for the full story in the Wednesday, Jan, 24, 2024 edition of the Mexico Ledger.
