Allen’s focus on the present made him the perfect teammate for overtime. He scored 10 of the Wolverines’ 14 overtime points to finish with 15 in a 65-59 victory.
“He’s clutch,” Dunbar coach Tony Dixon said. “We call him the killer.”
Allen started overtime with two three-point plays, scoring inside twice and getting fouled both times, for a 57-51 lead with 2:43 left. His desire showed on the second one when he missed, got the rebound when it looked like Meadowdale would get it, and made a difficult shot. The closest Meadowdale got was 61-57 before Allen scored the next four points.
Dunbar (6-1, 3-0 Dayton City League) and Meadowdale (2-3, 2-1) played to a similar finish last year on Dec. 14. Just like Meadowdale’s Kalerrio Reaves made a 3-pointer from the right side to force overtime last year, the Lions’ Josiah Scates did so this year with 21 seconds left.
And just like last year when he made 10 of 10 free throws late in the fourth quarter and in overtime, Allen made the big plays again this year. He had a 7-for-7 free-throw run late in another game last year and made 6-of-9 in the final 35 seconds in an upset of Cincinnati Woodward.
“He just wants to win,” Dixon said. “He’s been our leader this year, our team is on his back and we go as he goes. It’s just in him, his Dunbar Wolverine mentality.”
Still, it was a team victory. B.J. Hatcher and Eric Brewer each scored 14 points and Antone Allen, Antaune’s twin, scored 11. They kept the Wolverines close in the first half and in the lead during the second half by crashing the offensive boards.
“I’ve been feeling good about this squad,” Antaune Allen said. “We’ve been bonding together, really working together. We can go far this year for sure.”
Division II at tournament time will be a minefield. In addition to Dunbar, there’s unbeaten and highly regarded Chaminade Julienne and Alter, which won the regional last year. The Wolverines own a two-point win over Alter. Now add Meadowdale to the mix despite a 70-39 loss to CJ. The Lions won a Division III district title and are in Division II now with last year’s top seven players back.
“I said it that day they weren’t playing up to their full potential,” Dixon said. “No knock to CJ they’re a really good team, but Meadowdale was not clicking on all cylinders so it just looked so lopsided.”
The Lions led Dunbar by as many as seven in the second quarter, trailed by one at halftime after an 8-0 Dunbar run and played from behind in the second half. Dunbar missed just enough free throws late in regulation and had a couple turnovers to give Scates a chance to force overtime.
Scates scored 15 points, Reeves 14 and reserve Malik Thomas 13. The Lions were hurt by foul trouble to 6-foot-7 Lee Benson and 6-6 Keiseasn Mills. Both picked up three fouls in the first half, forcing head coach Dwayne Chastain to go to a zone defense. He didn’t play them together in the second half and rotated them until Benson fouled out late in regulation.
After the game, Chastain asked his team if they had seen the movie “White Men Can’t Jump.” They said no, so he encouraged them with a quote from the movie.
“Sometimes when you win you really lose, and sometimes you lose you really win,” he said. “I think that was the case today for us. They play hard, which we ask them to do. They executed well, we rebounded well, we got into a little foul trouble. I think that was a difference in the game.”
For Allen, the difference began with the run to end the first half. The Wolverines forced a couple turnovers and took a one-point lead.
“We had a lot of adversity missing layups and stuff we could have made,” he said. “But we put it together. We started playing more defense, and I think that’s what put us over the hump. We know we’ve got to play defense. That’s what’s really going to win the games for us.”
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