Carson High boys basketball

Raiders outlast Senators in OT

Carson High’s Japheth Banko pulls up for three as the final seconds tick away in regulation Tuesday against Reed. Banko hit the 3-pointer as a buzzer sounded to force overtime, where the Senators lost, 57-50.

Carson High’s Japheth Banko pulls up for three as the final seconds tick away in regulation Tuesday against Reed. Banko hit the 3-pointer as a buzzer sounded to force overtime, where the Senators lost, 57-50.
Photo by Carter Eckl.

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Japheth Banko did everything in his power to keep Carson High School boys basketball (7-16, 2-11 in Class 4A North) alive Tuesday in Morse Burley Gymnasium.

The senior had eight of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, including a deep 3-pointer from the wing that tied the contest, 45-45, as the buzzer sounded to force overtime.

Reed (7-15, 3-11) got the upper hand in the additional four-minute period, winning 57-50.

“Whoever lays that first punch is probably going to win overtime,” said Carson head coach Ty Golden. “We were so emotional after the big shot (from Banko). We tried to refocus, the job’s not done. …. I think we were still just riding that high and lost our focus.”

Banko nearly gave the Senators the lead with 12 seconds to play, catching an inbounds pass and draining a shot through contact, but a foul was called on the floor, taking away an and-one chance.

Tuesday’s ending was a near copy of the first meeting with the Raiders, with the Senators needing three points to force overtime. In that meeting, Carson didn’t hit the clutch shot to force OT.

“We drew something up and missed our window to hit him. … Yesterday in practice we made sure we had two or three specific calls for end-of-game situation,” said Golden. “He had a look. (The play) was not pretty, but it went in and happy for him that the shot went down.”

Carson pulled away from the Raiders in the second quarter, turning an 11-6 deficit into a 26-17 lead at the half.

Landon Hoff scored eight of his 12 points in the first 16 minutes.

Ethan Cook also knocked down a triple and another bucket, tallying five of his eight points in the second quarter.

“Of course we want the wins to fill that feeling of success as well, but we are trying to be relentless in being the best that we can be,” said Golden. “They are still the author of their story until the season is done.”

UP NEXT: Carson hosts Galena (7-15, 3-10) on Friday.