Demons survive scare from Newton in triple OT, finish 7th in Tournament of Champions

DODGE CITY–Austin Schulte put back a baseline jumper for Dodge City as time expired in regulation Saturday, and he and Isaiah Taylor sparked the Red Demons to a 58-56 triple overtime victory over one-win Newton in the seventh-place game of the Tournament of Champions at United Wireless Arena.

Schulte’s bucket came after a flurry of misses in the final 10 seconds by Dodge City, but several offensive rebounds allowed Schulte to sink a difficult shot partially behind the backboard to send it to an extra period. That all came after several turnovers in the final two minutes by Newton, who led by seven points with 90 seconds remaining in regulation.

Both teams struggled in the first overtime, with each club scoring three points, and the Demons failed to get a clean look off at the end of that four-minute session.

In the second overtime, Camden Carr, who netted a game-high 29 points for Newton, tipped in a missed three by Dellen Claassen with two seconds left to send the contest to a third overtime.

Finally, Dodge City scored on back-to-back possessions, and though they missed several free throws near the end, Carr’s fadeaway three-point heave missed short as the buzzer sounded, and the Demons escaped with a win over a Newton team who entered the contest losers of 28 of their last 30 games overall dating back to 2021.

Isaiah Taylor was the only Demon in double figures with 19 points, but Schulte’s nine were critical as well. Schulte’s first basket of the game was the game-tying deuce, and the other seven came in the extra periods.

Taylor was named to the All-Tournament team after Hutchinson secured the title Saturday night.

The Red Demons improve to 5-7 with the win and return to action Friday when they host Great Bend. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT.