CHERRY TWP — Derek Boben scored five points in Monday night's KSAC South boys basketball showdown against Karns City, but the true value of his production was far from modest.

Moniteau's junior forward drained a 3-pointer in overtime to give the Warriors a 53-50 lead. Then, just after David Olszak's trey gave the Gremlins a 57-56 edge with 18 seconds remaining, Boben drove and laid in the game's final two points with six seconds left.

J.J. Waid stole Karns City's inbound pass to preserve the 58-57 victory.

“It feels good,” Boben said of his two clutch shots. “I'm not a big scoring threat, but if I get an open look, I take it.”

The Warriors (9-12, 5-4) were out of timeouts late in the overtime, so following Olszak's 3-pointer, Moniteau coach Jerrod Markle was relying on a singular focus from his team.

“Stay aggressive,” he said. “If you're going to make a mistake, make it going to the basket and at least get to the free throw line. Derek was aggressive and he finished.”

Boben's late basket spoiled Olszak's incredible individual performance. The senior guard scored 37 of Karns City's 57 points. After the game, the latter was dejected about the final score.

“It's not fun when you lose, no doubt,” he said. “But I think this loss will make us better in the end.”

Olszak tallied eight of the Gremlins' 12 points in the extra period, including both field goals.

He scored all 10 of his team's points in the fourth quarter and 16 of 19 in the second quarter, after which the Gremlins (11-9, 7-2) led 25-21.

Olszak dropped 15 points in the teams' first meeting Jan. 10, a 47-39 win for Karns City.

“It wasn't our gameplan to have David take that many shots tonight, but he does a nice job of creating things,” KC coach Chris Bellis said. “We felt we had a good matchup with him and we're comfortable with him taking a lot of shots. Tonight, he took them when we needed him to.”

“He's a very crafty player,” Markle said of Olszak. “He doesn't let the moment get to him. They were down by two late in the overtime and he makes a three.”

In contrast, the Warriors received balanced scoring in overtime. Aside from Boben's baskets, Aaron Marterella, Cody Skiver and James Bair also chipped in with a field goal.

Skiver led Moniteau with 22 points and Bair added 16.

“This was a total team effort,” Markle said. “We had two players (Jake Fullerton and Skiver) foul out, but everybody stepped up and made shots.”

The game was sent to overtime thanks to Skiver, who drained a baseline jumper to tie the game at 45 as the fourth quarter expired.

“It was a good game,” said Bellis. “We played hard, but Moniteau just made more plays down the stretch.”

Both teams will be competing in the upcoming District 9 Class AA playoffs.

Boben believes Moniteau's latest effort is a good sign as the postseason looms.

“You're not going to win a playoff game with just two guys scoring,” he said. “Other players need to contribute.”

Even with Monday's defeat, Karns City has gone 10-4 since a 1-5 start to the season.

“We had high hopes before the season and we still do,” Olszak said.

KARNS CITY 57

David Olszak 10 14-17 37, Ethan Conto 1 0-0 3, Christian Turner 1 3-4 5, Brendan Waltman 1 0-0 2, Dalton Callihan 4 2-3 10, Holden Martin 0 0-0 0, Colton Hawk 0 0-0 0, Reese Barger 0 0-0 0, Chandler Turner 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 19-24 57.

MONITEAU 58

Jake Fullerton 3 1-2 7, Aaron Marterella 1 3-3 5, Cody Skiver 8 3-6 22, James Bair 6 3-8 16, Zack Jewart 1 0-0 3, Derek Boben 2 0-0 5, J.J. Waid 0 0-2 0, Shawn Giddings 0 0-0 0, Jared Shaffer 0 0-0 0. Totals: 21 10-21 58.

Karns City 6 19 10 10 12 — 57

Moniteau8 13 9 15 13 — 58

3-point goals: Karns City 4 (Olszak 3, Conto); Moniteau 6 (Skiver 3, Bair, Jewart, Boben).

Today: Union at Karns City

Wednesday: Moniteau at Keystone