Stineman works OT to lift Pats
Just before Stevenson boys basketball coach Pat Ambrose sent his team to the floor to start the overtime session against Zion-Benton, he pulled aside senior Kevin Stineman to give him one final piece of advice.
It seems that Ambrose remembered one year ago when the Patriots visited Zion-Benton and battled to a win in double overtime.
"I just asked Kevin to win it in the first overtime this time," Ambrose said with a laugh. "I didn't want to go through two overtimes again."
A year earlier it was a 3-pointer from Stineman that forced overtime and a blocked shot that won the game. This time Stineman, who has become quite comfortable with the surroundings at Zion, delivered again -- though not quite as dramatically.
Stineman scored 21 of his game-high 26 points in the second half and overtime, including 5 big points in the extra session, to help visiting Stevenson beat Zion-Benton 68-62 in overtime. It's Zion-Benton's second straight loss this week.
"(My teammate) Blake Ekenberg said that this is my gym," Stineman said with a laugh. "I just like playing here and I always like playing against really good teams like Zion."
Stevenson (11-6, 5-2) needed everything Stineman had to get back into the game. Zion had rattled off a 10-2 burst at the end of the first half and then scored the first bucket of the second half to take a 34-22 lead early in the third quarter. It was about then that Stineman started to find his shot.
In one stretch of the third quarter, Stineman scored 8 of the Patriots' 10 points to spark a 15-2 run. The hot stretch turned a 12-point deficit into a 37-36 Stevenson lead.
"He is just a momentum-changer," said Patriots senior Dylan Richter. "(Kevin) made a couple of shots and it really started to get the morale of everyone up and going."
Stineman started the burst and Richter carried it into the fourth quarter. The 6-foot-3 Richter scored 8 of his career-best 25 points in the fourth quarter to keep Stevenson in the game. Add 10 boards and 5 blocks, and Richter was a force that Zion didn't have an answer for.
"I am not sure there are many better players in the county than Dylan Richter," Ambrose said. "He was just incredible tonight."
Stevenson led by as many as 4 points in the final quarter but couldn't shake Zion-Benton (16-2, 5-2). The Zee-Bees tied the game with 43 seconds left on a putback by Quintrell Love and had the ball one last time to win the game, but a shot at the buzzer by Rodney Clinkscales fell short.
"We would have liked to have gotten a better look than that," Zion-Benton coach Don Kloth said. "I want to give credit to Stevenson for playing a terrific game."
Love led Zion off the bench with 21 points. Ronald Steward (12 points) and Marcus Yarbrough (10 points) also hit double figures for Zion.
Once into overtime, Stevenson took the lead and never looked back. A pair of free throws from Richter and 3 points from Stineman took the lead to 60-55 with 2:01 to go and Zion never responded.
"'For us to battle back, get the game into overtime and come out on top is a testament to these kids," Ambrose said. "This is a team with a lot of will and gumption and they showed it tonight."