Fenton 84, Riverside-Brookfield 73 (OT)

Fenton hoped to keep the game relatively low-scoring.

Oh well.

Behind Damian Sieradzki's career-high 41 points, the Bison seized sole possession of first place in the Metro Suburban Conference with an 84-73 overtime boys basketball victory over Riverside-Brookfield Friday in Bensenville.

Now that Round 2 of the rivalry has gone to Fenton (9-8, 4-1) to even the series, the Bison need to hold serve until the third and final showdown with the Bulldogs (9-7, 3-2) arrives Feb. 8 in Riverside.

"The key to that win was just getting that spark in overtime," said Sieradzki, who came 2 points shy of the program record of 43 points. His 14 rebounds were just shy of that record, too.

"Every time we play them it's a close game and comes down to the end," he said after topping his previous career high by 14 points. "We've been in so many close games it seems like a habit right now."

This one took some major work to get it close.

Fenton never trailed and built a double-digit lead six minutes into the game. The Bison built their biggest lead of 19 points in the second quarter, led by 14 after three quarters and by 15 points early in the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs and Southern Illinois-bound Chris Parrish, however, still powered back.

Parrish scored 17 of his team-high 34 points in the fourth quarter, including his team's final 10 points and the final 8 points for either team.

Fenton led 69-66 and had the ball with 30 seconds left, but Parrish stole the ball and knocked down a game-tying 3-pointer from the left baseline with 11 seconds left.

Disappointed but not deflated, the Bison stormed into overtime by scoring the first 6 points. Sieradzki and Gozie Umeadi, who tallied 17 points, combined for the team's entire 15-point effort in the four-minute period.

"I'm glad that we were able to get the lead back at the start of the overtime because I think that kind of halted their momentum," said Fenton coach Dennis Cromer, whose team won its fourth straight game.

Another career high went to Fenton's Darek Potuszynski, who tallied 10 of his 18 points in the first half. Dan Oswald poured in 22 points for Riverside-Brookfield.

"I really don't think I've played that intense of a game this year," Potuszynski said. "It was just wild out there. We wanted that win and said we're not giving up at all."