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In Monday’s third place game of the 2024 Comets Christmas Classic men’s basketball tournament, two Stanly teams who had already faced each other twice in the regular season met for a third time when South Stanly took on West Stanly.

South had won the two previous meetings, 60-46 and 63-61, but Monday’s game would go to overtime. South rallied from 12 down to force the extra session, but West prevailed 78-77.

Luke Eddy led four in double figures for West (6-7) with 22 points, including seven in overtime. Ricky Torrence scored 21 points. Cooper Crisco had 19 points and Cade Hinson added 11.

Jaxon Valler and Jayden Woods had 22 points each to lead South (5-5) while Gavyn Miller added 18.

The two teams played even in the first half, with South leading after one, 17-16. The Bulls led by four midway into the second as well, 24-20. A West bucket with 2:32 put the Colts ahead 29-28.

South and West exchanged leads for the final two minutes of the second, with the Bulls leading at halftime 35-31.

West retook the lead with 4:03 left in the third on a runner from Torrence.  The Colts led by five late in the period, but a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Valler made it a two-point game after three, 47-45.

Back-to-back threes to open the fourth helped West build a lead. The Colts led by as much as 12, 65-53, before South staged a furious rally in the final 1:46 of regulation. The Bulls pressed West, forcing turnovers and getting layups in the process.

Two Gavyn MIller foul shots with 1:17 left made it a four-point game. Miller then got a steal and layup seconds later to pull South within two.

In the final 30 seconds, Cohen Whitley got the ball in the low post and missed a short baseline jumper, but Miller got the offensive rebound and scored to tie the game at 67.

Cooper Crisco had a chance to win at the buzzer, but his reverse layup was short and the game went to overtime.

Eddy hit the first shot of the extra session for West, a three, but South’s Woods responded with a runner in the lane seconds later.

West built a five-point lead, 75-70, but Woods connected in the lane with 1:45 left to make it a three-point game.

Two Colts turnovers in the final two minutes gave South chances to cut the lead to one or tie the game, and the Bulls did just that. Woods connected on a step back three from the left elbow with 42.3 on the clock.

West took the lead for good when South’s defense tried to force a steal at the top of the key. Eddy drove to the basket, and his left-handed shot off the glass was good with 16.4 seconds left.

Miller had a chance to tie for South in the final seconds, but his layup was no good. Torrence pulled down the board and hit two free throws with 4.6 second left.

Woods hit a three at the buzzer for the game’s final margin.

“We played with pace mostly because we want to try to find the first, best shot,” West head coach Dusty Pflugner said. “(South’s) defense was very sound. It made it impossible to get to the rim.”

“The biggest thing is our team just kept fighting,” Pflugner said after the team lost the lead and headed to overtime. “At that time, it doesn’t matter. It’s 0-0 and we are playing another four minutes.”

Regarding the win and taking third place, Crisco said it showed the Colts “are good. We know we we are capable of doing as a team.”