Middleton, Fla. — The Villages High School boys basketball team outwilled, outlasted and outplayed Lake Minneola down the stretch of a three-overtime thriller Thursday night in Middleton.

In what amounted to the second-longest game in program history, the Buffalo dug deep multiple times late to claim a 93-87 victory over the visiting Hawks inside the VHS Gymnasium.

Here's how it happened:

• After the two teams ended regulation tied 66-66, the Buffalo fell behind 78-69 with 1:17 to play in overtime. VHS rallied back behind a press defense that caused three late turnovers and forced a second overtime at 78-78.
• In the second overtime, VHS again found itself down — this time trailing 84-80 with less than a minute left — only to once again see its defense step up. The Buffalo forced a turnover and then put together consecutive stops, sending the game to a third overtime at 84-84.
• It was all Buffalo in the third extra period, where senior Adyn Corbin scored seven points en route to the Buffalo outscoring Lake Minneola, 9-3, to earn the team's third straight overtime win dating back to the 2022-23 season.

 Here's what it means:

• VHS played in the second-longest game in program history, trailing only the 2019 Battle at The Villages opener against Seffner Christian. In that contest, the Buffalo earned a 117-114 win in four overtimes.
• This was the first time in program history that VHS played in back-to-back games needing overtime to decide a winner. Just last Saturday, the Buffalo defeated Cedar Grove (Ellenwood, Ga.) by a final score of 68-68 in the Battle in the Peach event in Atlanta.
• The Buffalo earned their seventh straight victory this year and their ninth consecutive home win dating back to last season.

Here's what they said:

• VHS head coach Colt McDowell: "It ultimately boils down to your level of relentlessness. You don't rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training. Our guys have been through it and they know what it takes. I don't want to say they're tough to kill — because it's not life or death — but they're tough to knock out. It took a lot of grit and toughness tonight, and we really showed we had some."
• VHS junior Jared Thompson: "It takes a lot of grit and grind to come together like that and keep pushing. You really have to rely on your chemistry to keep pushing, because in times like that, it's going to get hard. We know we didn't play as well as we should have earlier (in the game), but we showed how together we are and how conditioned we are, too."
• VHS junior Ethan Bevis: "Everything we do in the summer and fall, and in practice everyday, it gets us ready for a moment like that. It comes down to the team that plays harder for longer, especially with energy on defense, that's what it takes. Now, we've got to build off of it."

Aaron Britt, Jr. led the way for VHS with a game-high 36 points, while Corbin finished with 29 and Jomar Bernard tallied 13.

The Buffalo will next take the court Saturday night when they hit the road to square off against Buchholz (Gainesville).


Cody Hills can be reached for questions or comment via email at cody.hills@tvcs.org.