It seemed fitting.
Saturday afternoon’s game had reached crunchtime, and Oswego’s Armani Hunter was looking good — very, very good.
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While his given first name might suggest a fine fashion statement, we’re talking about the state of the senior guard’s play. And it was top notch.
“He didn’t have his best game the night before, but he bounced back and played great, especially defensively,” Oswego coach Chad Pohlmann said of Hunter. “He made some great steals and some tough baskets.
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“I’m so proud of that kid. He works really hard, has a phenomenal personality, and I love the kid to death. We needed him (Saturday).”
The 5-foot-9 Hunter delivered, coming off the bench to score a team-high 21 points and lead the Panthers to a 78-74 victory over Prairie Ridge in double overtime.
It came in a nonconference matchup in the Hoops for a Cure Shootout hosted by Kaneland.
The win was the eighth in the last nine games for Oswego, coming on the heels of Friday’s 63-58 win at West Aurora.
It lifts the Panthers (14-14) back to the .500 mark after a 2-7 start to the season.
Hunter made his second steal in OT and drove three-fourths the length of the court for a layup to break a 74-74 tie with 45.8 seconds remaining.
Freshman Jayden Riley then made a pair of free throws with nine seconds left to seal the verdict over the Wolves (12-13).
“My role is to help the guys out the best I can on defense, offense, everywhere the load is not being picked up, but especially on defense,” Hunter said.
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Hunter, who has committed to Division III Rhodes in Memphis, Tennessee, suffered a high ankle sprain 11 days earlier and has been working his way back.
“I was playing limited minutes and I’m happy to be back,” said Hunter, who scored only four points in the first half.
Senior guards Max Niesman and Josh Nelson scored 20 and 14 points, respectively. Senior forward Jeremiah Akin added 12 points for the Panthers, who couldn’t hold onto a 51-40 lead with 3:40 to go in regulation.
“We started playing sloppy and not to lose,” Niesman said. “I’m glad we finished it off.”
The game was tied 56-56 in regulation and 65-65 after the first OT.
Oswego struggled at the free-throw line, going 3 of 10 in regulation, but made all seven attempts in OT.
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Prairie Ridge, led by a game-high 29 points from senior guard James Muse, finished 13 of 15 from the line. The Panthers made eight 3-pointers to the Wolves’ four.
“Free throws killed us,” Niesman said. “If we hit them in the fourth quarter, there wouldn’t have been overtimes.
“We focus on them a lot in practice and have been really good. It was just an off game for them.”
Pohlmann was pleased with the effort, especially after a quick turnaround.
“It was a really, really emotional game the night before,” Pohlmann said. “To come back and get the win in double overtime shows the growth we’ve made.”
Niesman and Hunter said it was a rough start, especially after losing one starter from last year to transfer and another who decided to focus on training for football.
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“We had a lot of people telling us we wouldn’t be very good,” Hunter said.
Niesman thinks the players started believing it.
“Lately, we’ve been playing so much more together,” Niesman said. “We weren’t selfish at the start of the year, but we didn’t have much togetherness before realizing we can all play.”
Hunter said the team’s attitude is “more ‘we’ instead of ‘me’ basketball, as opposed to last year. These guys come to practice every day ready to work, ready to play. I love playing with them.”
It shows.
