Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com

The 3-ball got them there. The 2-ball got them the win.
The St. Joseph Flyers used 12 3-pointers that got them to overtime but it was a layup by Jimmy Mahlmeister just before the buzzer that produced a thrilling 55-53 win over the Rock Hill Redmen on Tuesday.
A charging call with three seconds left in overtime turned the ball over to the Flyers.
St. Joseph’s Isaac Whaley threw a long inbounds pass to Ryan Payne at the 3-point line who leaped in the air and while falling forward threw a pass to Mahlmeister breaking to the basket and he scored with 0.3 seconds on the clock.
“I can’t ask for any more effort than we got tonight. That was one of those games that could have gone either way,” said Flyers’ coach Chris Barnes.
St. Joseph (5-1) has now made 30 3-point field goals in its last two games.
Zach Roach — who had a school record 10 trifectas last Friday — hit five more treys as he scored 23 points. Ryan Payne also had five triples and scored 17 points while J.C. Damron and Mahlmeister each hit a 3-pointer.
“When you play the way we do, you have a free conscience to shoot. We struggled early and I thought the game was going to get away from us,” said Barnes. “When we shoot well, we have a chance. When we don’t make shots, we’re in trouble.”
The loss overshadowed a season-high 20-point scoring by Logan Hankins wo was 9-of-16 from the field. Garrett Miller and Kadin France added nine points each for the Redmen (3-3).
France also had 11 rebounds and Hankins eight.
“Hankins played great for them,” said Barnes. “Mahlmeister did a great job on France but we put two or three guys around him sometimes to help out. He’s big and strong and hard to guard.”
Rock Hill took a 17-10 first quarter lead as six different players scored. The lead was 17-7 at one point when the Flyers’ Bomb Squad began to go off.
Roach hit 3-pointer and Mahlmeister had a 40-footer at the buzzer in the first quarter.
Payne drained three trifectas and Roach two more in the second quarter as the Flyers took a 29-25 halftime lead. Miller had four points in the quarter for the Redmen.
France had four points and Braden Stamper hit a 3-pointer of his own for Rock Hill as each team scored 11 points and it was 40-36. Payne had two more shots from beyond the arc and Roach one as the Flyers kept pace.
Damron and Roach had 3-pointers in the fourth quarter but Hankins scored six points and Caleb Dillon three as Rock Hill tied the game 47-47 with 2:41 to play.
Neither team scored again until overtime when Hankins scored all six of Rock Hill’s points while Roach had four points and Payne two foul shots for the Flyers setting up the thrilling finish.
St. Joseph will play Coal Grove at 3 p.m. Friday at the Ironton Classic. Rock Hill hosts Oak Hill on Friday, Dec. 28.
Rock Hill 17 8 11 11 6 = 53
St. Joseph 10 19 11 7 8 = 55
ROCK HILL (3-3): Logan Hankins 9 0 2-3 20, Garrett Miller 2 1 2-2 9, Jake Blagg 1 0 1-2 3, Braden Stamper 2 1 0-0 7, Caleb Dillon 2 0 1-1 5, Kadin France 4 0 1-4 9. Totals: 22-49 7-12 53. 3-pt goals: 2-11. Rebounds: 11-O, 18-D = 29. Assists: 4 (Blagg 2). Steals: 7 (Hankins 2, Stamper 2). Turnovers: 9. Blocks: 2 (France, Stamper). Fouls: 15. Fouled out: France (OT).
ST. JOSEPH (5-1): Isaac Whaley 2 0 0-0 4, Zach Roach 3 5 2-2 23, Ryan Payne 0 5 2-2 17, J.C. Damron 1 1 1-3 6, Jimmy Mahlmeister 1 1 0-1 5, Matt Sheridan 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 7 12 5-8 55. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: None.