Dodsonville — Tuesday evening the LC Mustangs played host to their Southern Hills Athletic Conference counterparts, the Ripley Blue Jays. The Mustangs and Blue Jays have had some tight battles the last five years, and this one proved to be the most exciting and draining of them all, as both squads competed hard in a four overtime thriller Tuesday evening.

The first quarter saw the Blue Jays dent the scoreboard first with a lay up to make it 2 -0 in favor of the guests.

After that it was a nip and tuck affair, with the visitors from Ripley pulling ahead 14-13 after one frame.

The second quarter saw both teams increase their scoring, as the Blue Jays outscored the Mustangs 18-17 to take a 32-30 lead into the half.

The third quarter saw LC pull ahead at one point by five points, but the visiting Jays cut into the lead and both sides played an even third, with it being 46-44 Blue Jays after three.

In the fourth quarter with .7 seconds to go, Ripley had the ball underneath the Mustang basket and heaved an almost full court pass that didn’t catch iron, sending the game into the first of the four overtime periods.

Each team had multiple opportunities and made plays throughout the overtime period, and down three with less than 10 seconds to go, Lynchburg-Clay heaved a three that fell short and Ripley got the rebound, was fouled, and missed the free-throw with 1.3 to go.

One last desperation full court shot was blocked and the final score after a game and a half of basketball was 89-86 in favor of the Blue Jays. Both crowds gave a standing ovation to their respective squads as the play ended.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our guys tonight, “ said LC head coach Matt Carson. “Both teams made plays; both teams had guys step up tonight…I thought our ball movement was great on offense. This was a fun game to be a part of; we just came up a little short tonight.” “We would also like to thank our fans; your constant support and enthusiasm gave us the extra umph we needed all night.”

The Mustangs were led by Raymond Conner with 29 points and 15 rebounds on the evening. Ian Waits finished with 19 points as well as five assists. Noah Miller added 17 points, with three of them being three pointers.

Brady Chisman netted 16, with four of them being threes. David Giordano rounded out the scoring with five points.

For Ripley, Nigel Royal led the way with 29 points. TK Whaley added 16 points, while Peyton Fyffe netted 15. Gabe Fyffe scored nine, while Braiden Bennington and Cody Germann each had 7. Quincy Ellis rounded out the scoring with six.

LC 13 17 14 16 6 6 8 6 86

RIP 14 18 14 14 6 6 8 9 89

LC Conner 12 5-8 29; Waits 7 (1) 2-4 19; Miller 3 (3) 2-6 17; Chisman 2 (4) 0-2 16; Giordano 2 1-1 5 — Totals 26 (8) 10-21 86.

RIP Royal 8 (4) 1-2 29; Whaley 8 0-2 16; P. Fyffe 3 (3) 15; G. Fyffe 4 1-2 9; Germann 1 (1) 2-2 7; Bennington 2 (1) 7; Ellis 2 2-5 6 — Totals 28 (9) 6-13 89.