POWELL, Ohio -- Olentangy started 2018 with a bang in a rival road win at Olentangy Orange on Friday. Sean Marks and Jarred Kinniard combined for 48 as the Braves hung on in a 75-74 overtime thriller.

Orange jumped out to an early 7-2 lead  in the opening minutes. However, the junior stud Marks got the scoring going for the Braves he finished with six points in the opening quarter. Olentangy would hold a 15-14 lead after a quarter of play. 

In the second quarter, Olentangy really got after Orange with their press. Effectively mucking up the game and making it difficult for Orange to execute in the half court, the Braves did a great job of limiting post entry passes as they would hold Orange senior post Jalen Bethel to only four first half points.

Olentangy was able to get consistent scoring from its 1-2 punch of Marks and Kinniard, who combined for 16 points in the second quarter to propel the Braves to a 33-24 halftime lead.

In desperate need of a spark in the second half, Orange would find just that as  junior guard Luke Ballinger buried a three followed by two more from Matt McCollum.  After a McCollum And-1 conversion tied the game was all tied at 38 a piece late in the third, Olentangy's duo struck back.

Marks and Kinniard didn’t shy away as they would combine for 13 points to give Olentangy a 46-43 lead headed into the fourth quarter.

In the final frame, Orange's leading scorer woke up in a BIG way. After being limited in the first half, Bethel completely dominated in the post totaling 11 points in the quarter alone. Ballinger chipped in nicely as well as he buries three triples in the quarter as the Braves watched its lead disappear.

Giving Orange a momentary lead with 1:31 remaining after a three-point play from Bethel, all momentum seemed to be going the Pioneers' way.

Going to the line with an opportunity to make it a five point game and seal the game with about 20 seconds remaining, Orange's student section reigned down chants of “little sisters ."

However all didn’t go as planned. The front  end of the one-and-one was missed and Olentangy answered with a two point basket on the other end. Orange would convert the next pair of free throws to give them a 67-64 lead, but unfortunately they left 6.7 seconds on the clock for Sean Marks. That would be all he needed as Marks raced up the court and knocked down a heavily contested bank three to force overtime.

Overtime would play out the same as the game had all night. It was very close and would come down to the final minute. Orange senior Manny Anderson picked the pockets of a Brave guard and took the ball in for what appeared to be a game winning layup as Orange took a 74-72 lead in the waning moments. However, the Braves had one buzzer beater up their sleeve as senior Alex Sieve buried a corner three with a defender flying at him to win the game as time expired.

For Olentangy, Marks continued his breakout junior year finishing the night with 31 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals. Kinniard added 17 points and eight rebounds, while Sieve pitched in 11 points, but none bigger than his three to win the game. 

For Orange, McCollum turned in a very impressive with 20 points and five rebounds. Ballinger added 17 points on five threes, while Bethel finished one rebound shy of a double-double, with 15 points and nine boards.

With the win, Olentangy will look to keep rolling with a road matchup at undefeated Dublin Coffman on Saturday. For Orange, the Pioneers drop its second-straight game and will look to get back to its winning ways on Tuesday at home vs. Hilliard Davidson.