Cyclones rally at Clarinda, win in OT

 CLARINDA (Dec. 22) -- The Harlan Community boys gutted out another low-scoring Hawkeye Ten victory on Tuesday night, rallying back twice in regulation and beating Clarinda 52-49 in overtime.
 HCHS improved to 4-2 overall and took a perfect 4-0 conference record into the two-week holiday break.
 “This was a very hard fought road win,” said HCHS coach Mitch Osborn. “Clarinda went to a 3-2 zone and we really struggled from the three-point arc and were ice cold, but hit some huge ones when we needed to down the stretch.”
 The Cyclones trailed 30-21 in the third quarter before rattling off 10 straight points to take the lead. Clarinda scored the next eight points and led 38-31 with five minutes left, but the Cyclones rallied again. Connor Frame hit a three-pointer to make it 40-38, Jacob Birch’s trey made it 42-41 and Will McLaughlin’s layup - off a nice assist from Aidan Hall - tied the score at 43 with :30 to go.
 HCHS stole the ball with eight seconds left, but Frame was called for charging on a drive to the rim and the game went to overtime.
 Teagon Kasperbauer and Hall both hit a three in the first 90 seconds of OT to put the Cyclones up for good. Leading by three with time winding down, HCHS fouled Clarinda to prevent a game-tying shot. The Cardinals hit both free throws, but Brad Curren’s two foul shots put Harlan back up by three and both teams missed twice at the line in the final seven seconds. Clarinda’s desperation three-quarter court heave at the buzzer was no good.
 Hall scored a team-high 13 points for HCHS and also had eight rebounds and three steals. McLaughlin (10 rebounds, 2 blocks) and Frame both scored 12 points while Curren finished with nine points and four assists. In addition to his big three late in regulation, Birch added seven rebounds and three steals off the bench.
 The Cardinals (5-3 overall, 2-2 H-10) were led by Drew Brown’s 22 points and 15 from Michael Shull.