By Cody Rose
The Union City Bears Boys Basketball team was back in action on Wednesday night as they welcomed the Maplewood Tigers into the Bears Den as they honored their seniors on Senior Night.
After a back-and-forth start with both teams trading the lead, Maplewood would go on a run late in the first quarter to go up 11-6. The Tigers would lead 13-10 after one quarter of play.
The second quarter mirrored the first as both teams would trade baskets. The Bears would go up 19-15 just past the midpoint of the quarter but a Chase Koelle three would put the Tigers back within one. The Bears would go into the half leading 21-20.
The Tigers would build their biggest lead of the game as they would take a 31-26 lead with 2:30 to go in the third. The Bears would finish the quarter strong however as they would go on a 9-2 run to retake the lead 35-33 after three quarters.
Maplewood would begin the fourth quarter strong as they would go on a 6-0 run to retake the lead 39-35. Ian Kinney would later hit a three to tie the game with five minutes left in regulation.
The Bears would get the lead back with two minutes left as Cooper Fox was fouled while shooting a three and made all three shots from the foul line to put the Bears on top 45-43. The Tigers would then tie the game after Liam McCarl made a couple foul shots to send the game into overtime.
Ian Kinney would start the overtime period with a three-pointer to give the Bears a 48-45 lead. It would be all Union City from there as the Bears would go on a 9-0 run to take a 54-45 lead. The Bears would outscore the Tigers 11-4 in the extra period to go on to win the game 56-49 in overtime ending their four-game losing streak. The win improves the Bears to 5-7 on the season, while the Tigers fall to 4-9.
The Bears will be back in action on Friday night to begin region play as they host Erie Prep Academy in the Bears Den.
Game stats:
Union City:
Cooper Fox – 14 points
Ian Kinney – 14 points
Mason Wienczkowski – 8 points
Cork Greer – 5 points
Eli Troyer – 4 points
Jackson Kibbe – 4 points
JR Trauner – 4 points
Blake Turner – 3 points
Maplewood:
Chase Koelle – 16 points
Kyle Jordan – 15 points
Liam McCarl – 11 points
Gavin Reynolds – 4 points
Landon Pierce – 3 points
