Boys basketball: Cloverleaf beats Firelands in OT at Joe Tait Classic

WESTFIELD TWP. — Marty Moran and Carter Whitehair had season-best offensive performances and Logan Forbes notched his seventh double-double to lead Cloverleaf to a solid 72-67 overtime win over Firelands at the Joe Tait Classic. The trio combined for 62 points in the non-league matchup. The Colts (6-4) committed 21 turnovers but shot 27-for-52 (52%) from the floor, 6-for-13 (46%) from 3-point range and 12-for-16 (75%) at the foul line. While Forbes (19 points, 14 rebounds) got rolling in the second half and Whitehair (19) did most of his damage in the first three quarters, Moran took over the final 12 minutes. The 6-foot-2 guard tallied 13 of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter and extra session, which included eight of his team's 10 points in overtime. Moran was dynamic leading the offense with smart passing — he had nine assists — and helped the Colts dominate down the stretch. "We had a lot of guys doing really well," Moran said. "I think that boosted our confidence, personally, and as a team because it proved that we could do what we wanted to." The junior had a hand in 20 of the Colts' final 23 points, including three assists. He had dimes to Forbes and Isaac Smith on back-to-back possessions to start the fourth quarter to take a 54-52 lead and found Forbes in traffic for a thunderous two-handed slam in overtime to put the Colts ahead 68-63 with 1:50 left. Forbes then hit a pair of free throws and another bucket to extend the lead to 72-64 with less than a minute remaining. "It's not my first rodeo in overtime," Moran said. "I just knew to keep my cool and keep playing my game. It's nothing else. It's just another quarter of basketball. Nothing to freak out about." Whitehair scored 18 of his 19 points in the first three quarters and was nearly perfect from the floor, making 6-of-8 field goals and 3-of-4 3-pointers. "It gave me a lot of confidence for myself to keep shooting those threes and keep taking shots," he said. "I feel a lot more confident after this game." Forbes had 11 of his 19 points and 11 of his 14 boards in the second half and overtime. "I think I just got better into the groove," Forbes said. "At first, I didn't feel it, and I wasn't in it very well in the first half. In the second half, I finally got in the groove, and I was just going at it at that point." Dylan Bresnahan added four points and four assists, while Isaac Smith had six points and five rebounds for the Colts. Chris Radman (23 points, 6 rebounds), Aiden Fortner (12, 8) and Max Stinson (13, 4 assists) paced the Falcons (5-3). Contact Chad Grant at sports@medina-gazette.com. Cloverleaf 72, Firelands 67 (OT) FIRELANDS&emsp;18 13 21 10 5 — 67 CLOVERLEAF&emsp;13 19 17 13 10 — 72 Firelands — Chris Radman 7-7-23, Max Stinson 5-1-13, Nathaniel Duke 0-0-0, Jimmy Aunspaw 3-1-8, Nate Draga 2-0-4, Nick Dunfee 2-0-5, Trace Kaplak 0-0-0, Rylan Copen 0-0-0, Aiden Fortner 5-0-12, Devin Linn 1-0-2, Bryan Grega 0-0-0. TOTALS: 25-9-67. Cloverleaf — Carter Whitehair 6-4-19, Gavin Cauley 0-0-0, Logan Forbes 8-3-19, Marty Moran 8-5-24, Ty Novak 0-0-0, Dylan Bresnahan 2-0-4, Isaac Smith 3-0-6, Kellen Price 0-0-0. TOTALS: 27-12-72. 3-point goals — Fortner 2, Radman 2, Stinson 2, Aunspaw, Dunfee, Moran 3, Whitehair 3. Rebounds — Firelands 29 (Fortner 8), Cloverleaf 36 (Forbes 14). Assists — Firelands 12 (Stinson 4), Cloverleaf 18 (Moran 9). Records — Firelands (5-3) Cloverleaf (6-4). Junior varsity — Firelands 60, Cloverleaf 54.