Boys High School Basketball: Champlin Park tops Blaine in double overtime
No. 5 Champlin Park outlasted an upset-minded Blaine team 110-104 in double overtime in a Thursday night thriller. KSTP Sports was in attendance.
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The Rebels stay undefeated, 5-0, riding their two prolific scorers in Tyler Wagner and Kwa Silikpoh, who combined for 76 points in the victory.
Silikpoh controlled the first half for Champlin Park and Wagner took over in the second half and overtime periods. The free throw line in the late stages was the difference between the two teams as Silikpoh scored the final five points for the Rebels at the charity stripe.
Ty Buffo hit multiple crunch-time buckets for the Bears, including a three to give Blaine a lead in overtime but his 31 points were not enough to get over the hump. Shiloh Ayitey kept the Bears hopes alive in overtime as he glided through the defense and laid one off the glass as time expired in overtime to tie the game and force a second extra session.
Wagner walked into a contested three pointer in double overtime knocking it down and giving the Rebels a lead they would hold onto until the final buzzer.
Champlin Park weathered the Bears storm trailing by double digits in the second half, but did enough to stick in it and finished with force. The Rebels have over a week to celebrate the holiday season and prepare for No. 3 Sauk Rapids-Rice in a battle of undefeated teams.