DEFENDING THE RIM … North Central’s Logan Clark blocks the layup of Edon’s Kadin Stantz.
PHOTOS BY REBEKAH DELL / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
DOUBLE OVERTIME … Edon’s Kendol Brigle goes in for a shot in the first quarter of the Bombers’ double overtime win over North Central.
By: Nate Calvin
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
sports@thevillagereporter.com
EDON (January 23, 2026) – The Bombers looked to be in control, leading North Central 50-39 with 2:30 left in regulation. The Eagles had other plans. The visitors from Pioneer closed the game on a 13-2 run to force overtime.
One overtime wasn’t enough, and Edon’s Kadin Stantz buried a triple with 13 seconds left in overtime number two to give the Bombers a 74-73 win to stay within one game of first place in the BBC standings.
North Central jumped out to an early 8-3 lead in the opening frame before a 5-0 spurt by Edon tied the game 8-8 after one quarter.
Edon scored the first five points of the second quarter on a corner trey by Stantz and an offensive rebound bucket by senior Drew Gallehue, his first points of the night, to extend their lead to 13-8.
The Eagles responded with a 7-0 run, capped off by an Anton Hegler layup, to put North Central ahead 15-13. It was the first of seven lead changes in the second quarter.
The final lead change of the quarter came just before halftime as Corbin Chrisman connected on a triple to give the Bombers a 23-22 lead at halftime.
The Edon lead increased in the third quarter with a 9-2 run as Stantz hit a three-ball, Lincoln Kiess and Kendol Brigle added field goals, and Chrisman was 2-2 at the free throw line to make it 32-24.
The lead stood at 36-29 entering the fourth as Gallehue started things with an offensive rebound bucket and a short jumper by Micah Kessler gave Edon a double-digit lead at 40-30.
The teams traded scores as Gallehue scored six points during the stretch to put the Bomber lead at 50-39.
The Eagles’ rally began as their trapping defense forced numerous Edon turnovers as Zack Whitley and freshman Easton Fidler drained back-to-back trifectas to trim the deficit to 50-45 at the 1:46 mark.
A Whitley layup and then an offensive rebound bucket by Whitley off his own miss cut the Edon lead to 50-49.
Stantz hit 2-2 at the line to stop the run of ten unanswered points by North Central with 21.4 left in regulation to give the Bombers a 52-49 edge.
After a timeout, Fidler knocked down a triple from the right wing, his third of the quarter, at the buzzer to force the first extra session.
The teams each hit two field goals in the opening two minutes of overtime followed by a Whitley ‘and-one’ on a back door cut to give the Eagles a 59-56 lead.
Edon would get a pair of free throws from Chrisman and after Whitley went 1-2 at the stripe, Stantz drilled a triple from the left corner to give the Bombers the lead back at 61-60.
Whitley hit a free throw with 32.6 left in overtime to tie it and after each team’s final possession of overtime came up empty, the game was headed to a second overtime.
North Central went on a 7-2 run to open the overtime as Fidler hit a three from the right wing, Whitley was 2-2 at the line, and Jackson Poynter added a basket to push the lead to 68-63.
Gallehue scored the next six Edon points, the last two coming off a steal, to cut the Eagles’ lead to 71-69 with 1:00 left.
Another Edon field goal off a North Central turnover, this one a Chrisman bucket, tied the game at 71-71. The Eagles came back quickly as Whitley got behind the Edon defense for a layup to put the Eagles back in front, 73-71.
With no timeouts remaining, Stantz worked free and bottomed a triple from the left wing with 13 seconds to go to put the Bombers back on top at 74-73.
North Central’s final possession ended in a turnover as Edon deflected a pass intended for Poynter on a set play out of a timeout as time expired to give the Bombers the win.
Edon ended the night 26-65 (40%) shooting from the floor and were a clutch 16-17 (94%) at the charity stripe, with their only miss coming in the second overtime.
Gallehue fronted Edon (9-6, 3-1 BBC) with 25 points, 16 coming after halftime, Chrisman added 18, and Stantz totaled 17.
The Eagles (8-8, 2-2 BBC) hit 26-60 (43%) from the floor, but went just 14-25 (56%) at the free throw line, including 5-11 in the fourth quarter and 8-13 in the two overtimes combined.
Whitley led all scorers with 29 points, Fidler had 15, on five three-pointers, and Poynter added 11.
NORTH CENTRAL (73) – Hegler 5; Poynter 11; Meyers 2; Whitley 29; Reinbolt 5; St. John 0; Clark 6; Fidler 15; Totals: 19-7-14 – 73
EDON (74) – Stantz 17; Chrisman 18; Kiess 4; Brigle 6; Gallehue 25; Kessler 0; Reed 4; Totals: 20-6-16 – 74
NCHS 8 14 7 23 9 12 – 73
EHS 8 15 13 16 9 13 – 74