Hall, Raiders rally past Galena in overtime

RENO -- Even though the Galena Grizzlies led for 31 minutes and 56 seconds, in the end, Dustin Hall and the Reed Raiders were on top when it counted.

At the final horn, that is.

Hall scored 14 of his game-high 29 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as Reed rallied to pull out an important 66-57 High Desert League boys basketball victory at Galena on Tuesday night.

"He's the kind of kid, you know he's going to step up in a big game," Gray said of Hall, who is also the defending 4A state golf champion. "He's the kind of kid who can get us a layup, he can get us a 3-point shot, he's shooting 77 percent at the free throw line for the season."

The game was a big one because Reed improved its High Desert League record to 3-0 (13-4 overall), while Galena slipped to 1-2.

"That was a huge game for us," Galena coach Tom Maurer said. "It's not the end of the line because we still have nine games left, but you want to win all your home games, especially against Reed, Elko and McQueen."

And the Grizzlies, who have won four Northern 4A tournament championships in the last five years, normally expect to win when they lead by 10 points in the fourth quarter. They were up 42-32 after Joe Heaton fed Mikey Ferguson for a layup with 7:01 remaining.

Reed cut the gap to 50-49 when Robert Vega stole the ball on the defensive and Hall cashed in with a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Heaton hit the first of two free throws to make it 51-49 with 21.4 seconds remaining.

Hall, a 6-foot-3 senior forward, drove through the lane for a basket with 4.3 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game to overtime, then his four free throws in the extra period helped put the Raiders in control.

"There was no doubt who we were going to on that last possession," Reed coach Paul Gray said. "You could have asked one of the parents up in the stands and they would have given you the same response."

Not only did Hall score 13 points in the second quarter to help keep the Raiders within 28-23 at halftime, he made 11 free throws without a miss after the intermission to lead the comeback. He shot 15-for-16 from the line overall.

Reed controlled the tip in overtime and took its first lead of the night when Mark Burkhardt hit the first of two free throws. Galena had an opportunity to regain the lead on its possession, but a layup attempt by Ferguson was blocked by Vega, Hall came down with the ball and hurled the ball downcourt to Lucas DeLong, who scored on a layup to make it 54-51.

"That was a huge play," Gray said. "Robert is deceivingly athletic. I think people underestimate what he can do, but he's had a few of those throughout the season."

Moments later, DeLong buried a 3-pointer from the left side to give the Raiders a 57-51 lead. DeLong finished with 12 points.

"I was real proud of the way the guys hung in there," Gray said. "We never led until the end, but we got it back even when the horn went off, and then we won it in overtime. That's all that matters."

Heaton led Galena with 17 points. Whip Thompson and Tommy Myers added nine points each and Ferguson eight for the Grizzlies.

From Galena's point of view, Maurer pointed straight to 24 turnovers as one of the keys. Seventeen of those turnovers came in the second.

"You look at 24 turnovers, that's an opportunity to score 48 points you're giving up. That's a lot of points to give up in a basketball game," Maurer said. "Their pressure picked up and we didn't respond. That's just heads-down basketball, that's not Galena basketball."