Boys’ Basketball

Otselic Valley 72, Lafayette 71

SOUTH OTSELIC – On an evening when the senior basketball players were honored for their contributions to the OV program, senior David Cerasani had a game for the ages.

Cerasani led his team back from a 20-point second-half deficit, and his buzzer-beating three-pointer finished off a career-high 42-point evening. Cerasani had 25 points in the fourth quarter, 35 in the second half, and he connected on 8-for-12 from behind the three-point arc. “We just kind of shifted gears and played with more intensity and focus in the fourth quarter,” said OV coach Dave Loomis. “David had probably the best half of basketball that I’ve ever seen a kid play. We kept clawing back and they missed some free throws.”

Lafayette, who beat OV 79-63 at the start of the season, took a 62-42 lead after starting the fourth on a 10-0 run. Cerasani hit six of his trifectas in the last quarter, and with 3.9 seconds left, Lafayette missed the front end of a foul shot attempt. Cerasani brought the ball up the floor, but had his shot attempt deflected out of bounds with 0.7 seconds remaining. Cerasani came off a screen from the top of the key on the ensuing play, and caught and shot the ball fading away as the buzzer sounded. “It was an off-balance shot,” Loomis said, “but it looked good all the way from where I was standing.