With 6:30 left in the game, the Tecumseh Arrows finally caught the host Piqua Indians after trailing the entire night, when Reid Hale scored on a four-point play to tie the Indians at 51 all.
Unfortunately for the Arrows, they could not ride that momentum to a victory, as Piqua regained the lead and never looked back advancing to the championship game of their holiday tournament with a 75-68 victory over the Arrows, dropping Tecumseh to 1-6 on the season.
The next night, the Arrows struggled against their former league foes from Tippecanoe, as Tecumseh lost in the consolation game 67-42 after falling behind 36-14 at the half and could never recover.
In the semi-final game, Hale led the Arrows with a game high 24 points, while Brody Martin added 23 and Clay Mastin scored 16.
Piqua took control early, scoring seven consecutive points to grab a 9-4 lead midway through the opening quarter. Hale broke the streak and as the buzzer sounded to end the quarter, Mastin buried a three to give the Arrows some momentum going into the second period, only trailing 12-9.
Mastin’s three was one of 15 made on the day for the Arrows, as they shot 15-31 behind the arc.
Piqua came out and quickly added to their lead on a Nick Rigola three to open the quarter, as the Indians put together five quick points to open the quarter. The threes were raining down late in the half, as Martin and Mastin connected on the long shots, as they closed their deficit to 26-24 at the half.
Tecumseh continued to hit the three point shot in the third period, as they connected on three straight shots to kept the Piqua lead within range, as two late three’s from Hale including one at the end of the period, and Tipp trailed 49-45.
Following Hale’s big shot tied the game, Nate Monnin took over the game. The Piqua senior scored the next seven points to give the Indians a 58-51 lead.
Two three’s from Hale kept the Arrows close, as they trailed 64-61 with 2:36 left. Piqua maintained their lead, and pulled away in the final minute and advanced to the championship game.
*In the consolation game, the Arrows could not overcome a large halftime deficit and fell to the Red Devils.
Mastin led the Arrows with 17 points, while Drew Sarihan and Martin each added 10.
Tecumseh is back in action Friday night at Urbana, then hosts Troy on Saturday night.
