Cubs rally to upset Petrolia 45-42 in overtime
By Jimmy Potts
OLNEY — The Olney High School Cubs snapped a two-game district winning streak while upsetting 14th-ranked Petrolia Pirates 45-42.
Facing a 12-2 deficit early in the first quarter, and suffering from a roster depleted by illness and injury, the Cubs prospects for a victory seemed slim until they received the spark they needed from sophomore guard Jalen Terry.
“We could have easily folded,” Olney coach Carl Pennington said. “Jalen came off the bench and gave us a spark. When he gave us that spark we starting clicking and sticking to our game plan.”
Terry picked up his first of 9 points in the second quarter after crashing the lane for a lay-in. A few possessions later, Terry added another bucket from close range, then picked up a steal on the ensuing Petrolia possession and added another close-range basket to pull Olney within two.
Calling the Cubs’ victory Tuesday night a hard-fought win may be a bit of an understatement, considering they did not take the lead until a senior guard Carson Fite knifed through the paint for a bucket, giving Olney its first and only lead of the evening.
“We did not think we could beat them,” Fite said. “We were just trying to hold them ... We kept fighting back. This is a state-ranked team. I feel like they underestimated us a bit.”
Petrolia retook the lead on the next possession, but in the extra period Petrolia’s fouls began to mount. With Olney now in the bonus, each foul would put the Cubs at the free-throw line. Senior guard Brent McCorkle, who led the Cubs in scoring with 12 points, seemed automatic from the line hitting all six of his attempts. McCorkle put the Cubs ahead from the line 43-42 with under two minutes left in regulation. Petrolia drove the ball the length of the court, only for Olney sophomore forward Parker Mayer to come up with the rebound. Olney looked to play keep away, but Petrolia poked the ball loose, but it careened out of bounds. McCorkle was fouled on the ensuing inbound and sealed the game.
“Everything finally started clicking,” McCorkle said. “We had people stepping up off the bench and it worked out. We knew what we were capable, but we had not shown it yet. Tonight, we showed what we could do.”