Saints Drop Double Overtime Grinder to Odessa

It seems like every time the Seward County Saints and Odessa Wranglers get together, whether it be in Liberal, Odessa, or on Friday, in Midland, the games go down to the wire.  Friday night in Midland the Saints and Wranglers were at it again, batting to a 48-48 tie after regulation, 54-54 tie after overtime before Odessa finally outlasted Seward 65-58 in the Saints first double overtime game since 2010 when coincidentally Seward knocked off Odessa in the Greenhouse 90-86.  

The first half wasn't one for fans of offense as both Seward and Odessa played at a snails pace.  The Saints managed to get off just 21 first half field goal attempts while Odessa struggled against Seward's reinvented match up zone.  Each team made just 6 field goals in the first 20 minutes of action with the score at the break 19-17 in favor of Seward.  The Saints shot just 29% from the field and were 1 for 7 from three while Odessa shot worse than that at 25% and 1 for 10 from deep.  

Seward continued to hold the slight advantage as the second half got underway as Odessa simply couldn't penetrate their zone.  At the midway point of the second half Seward led by three and as the clock ticked under 9:00, they clung to a 35-34 advantage.  However as the game moved along, Seward's defense alone couldn't keep them afloat and their lead disappeared until they faced a six point deficit at 45-39 with under 3:00 to go.  Odessa continued to lead into the final minute of action, but a late basket by Seward tied the game and a last second stand sent the game to overtime tied at 48.  

Nothing changed in overtime as points were hard to come by and four minutes into the period it was Seward 53 and Odessa 52.  The Wranglers got a bucket to go on top by one with under 30 seconds to go, but a late Saint free throw tied the game and the game went to a second overtime tied at 54.  

While they hung on for the first 45 minutes of the game, the lack of offensive flow finally caught up with Seward in the second overtime as they fell behind early and trailed 60-58 with 1:44 to go.  They were never able to overcome the Wrangler lead and Odessa buried free throws down the stretch to take the Saints down 65-58.  

Seward managed just 3 overtime field goals and ended the game shooting under 33% from the field and just 18% from beyond the arc.  Also hindering their chances was 31 Seward turnovers which weren't overly exposed because of 27 Odessa turnovers on the night.  

Tykwan Garner was a lone bright spot for the Saints, registering a career high 14 points and a career high 11 rebounds in the loss.  Only one other Seward player had more than 7 points in the defeat.  

The Saints drop to 0-3 for the first time since the 1978-1979 season when they started 0-5.  Odessa improves to 2-0 on the early season. 

Things won't get any easier for Seward who will now take on 3-1 Midland Saturday night on their home floor.  

#15 SEWARD COUNTY/ODESSA BOX SCORE