FREDERICKSBURG – The Hendrickson Hawks gave the Kerrville Tivy boys basketball team all it could handle in their 4A area round matchup but were ultimately done in by the referee’s whistle, falling 60-56 in overtime.

Hendrickson fought to tie the game at 53-53 to force the extra period. Jalen Harris converted a three-point play to give the Hawks a 56-55 lead with two minutes left in overtime, but it was a charge foul on Harris that ultimately proved to be Hendrickson’s undoing. After Tivy’s Jonathan Perry scored on a turnaround jumper to give the Antlers a 57-56 lead, Harris grabbed the ball, raced down the court and appeared to score. However, the basket was waved off as Harris was called for a charge, negating the bucket and returning the ball to Tivy. The play was also the end of the night for Harris who picked up his fifth foul. Without their leader Hendrickson was unable to score in the game’s final minute and watched as the Antlers held on for the win.

Fouls were a huge storyline in the game. Four Hawks ended up fouling out while two Tivy starters also had five fouls in the game. Subsequently free throws turned out to be a huge factor as well. Hendrickson struggled mightily at the line, missing seven charity shots in the fourth quarter and overtime period.

The Hawks jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the game then watched as the Antlers battled back and eventually took a 29-24 halftime lead. The two teams traded baskets for the third quarter and the better part of the fourth before Hendrickson’s full-court press finally started to pay dividends. The Hawks forced eight Antler turnovers in the final quarter of the game, allowing them to go on a 7-0 run and take a 46-45 lead with 5:12 left in the game. The lead see-sawed back and forth from there with Tivy taking a 53-52 lead with 14 seconds left in regulation. Five seconds later Hendrickson’s Tony Thompson was fouled and made one of two free throws to tie the contest at 53-53. Damarion Jackson stole the Antlers’ inbounds pass and fed the ball to Thompson who launched a jumper at the buzzer that did not find the mark, sending the game to overtime.