The Wekiva boys basketball team’s undefeated start came to a dramatic end Tuesday night, as Timber Creek escaped Mustang Arena with a 73-71 overtime win in a back-and-forth thriller that never saw either team lead by more than two possessions. 

From the opening tip, the pace was frantic, and the momentum swung on every trip down the floor. Timber Creek struck first with an and-one, but Wekiva’s Louvens Saint-Pierre immediately answered with one of his own, then added an elbow jumper to take an early 8-7 lead.  

Jasen Francillon provided a spark inside with four straight points to break an 11-11 tie, but the Wolves responded by busting Wekiva’s press for a wing 3 and a strong finish at the rim. Off the bench, Kaiden Jean-Louis buried a catch-and-shoot 3 from a Saint-Pierre assist, but Timber Creek’s Ethan Espinal finished the quarter with back-to-back contested 3s, giving the Wolves a 22-18 lead after a high-tempo first eight minutes. 

The second quarter slowed dramatically. Two minutes passed before Wekiva scored on a baseline cut by Jean-Louis off a feed from Kenny Diejuste. Khai Orr checked in and immediately delivered a steal and a smooth reverse lay-in to tie it up. As Timber Creek continued attacking the rim, Francillon racked up second-chance points to keep Wekiva level. 

With under a minute left, Eric Nichols drilled a pull-up elbow jumper to put the Mustangs ahead 32-31. But in the final seconds, after Francillon floated in his 11th point of the half, the Wolves raced up the court and Espinal drilled a buzzer-beating 3 to tie it 34-34 at halftime. 

The third quarter also started slowly, with neither team scoring a field goal until Timber Creek broke through at the six-minute mark. Wekiva stayed afloat at the line until Darion Thomas buried a 3, giving the Mustangs their first basket three minutes into the period.  

Nichols later tied it 43-43 with a deep left-wing 3, then hit another moments later after Francillon muscled in an and-one opportunity. But once again, the Wolves stole the final moment. Timber Creek’s Noah Taylor launched and hit a heave from the opposite 3-point line to steal the quarter up 49-48. 

Saint-Pierre opened the fourth with a wing 3, and Nichols continued his hot shooting with two more triples, pushing Wekiva ahead 62-58 with two minutes left. Espinal, who poured in 29 points, traded big shots with Nichols down the stretch.  

With 30 seconds remaining, Taylor hit a heavily contested corner three to make it 64-63. After Wekiva split at the line, Espinal raced up court and drilled a deep tying 3 with 18 seconds to go. Saint-Pierre was fouled with three seconds left but missed both free throws, and Francillon’s putback rimmed out, sending the game to overtime. 

Francillon opened OT with a free throw, but Chase Hibbard answered with a spinning layup that sparked a brief Timber Creek surge. The Wolves inched ahead 69-65 with a minute remaining before Orr hit two free throws. After a technical foul on Timber Creek, Thomas calmly sank two free throws, then danced on the baseline and pulled a spinning ‘Kobe-like’ baseline fadeaway, making it 71-71 with 24 seconds left. 

Wolves Hibbard delivered again, scoring the go-ahead putback with eight seconds remaining. Wekiva pushed the ball quickly, but Orr’s contested floater at the horn fell short. 

Nichols led the Mustangs with 19 points and five threes, Francillon scored 17, Thomas added 11, and Saint-Pierre and Orr each finished with eight. 

Wekiva travels to play the Lake Buena Vista Vipers (1-2) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.