In the end, the brilliant performance of Monroe City's C.E. Talton was the difference, as the 6-1 junior poured in 45 points --- including two free throws with 0.5 tenths of a second left in the second overtime --- as the Panthers outlasted the Blair Oaks Falcons 85-83 during Saturday's Central Bank Shootout at Rackers Fieldhouse.

This wasn't a wow, it was a WOW!

"It really was," Falcons coach Ryan Fick said. "But I'm sure it was a lot more exciting to sit there and watch it as a fan than it was to try to coach it. There were a lot of players on the floor tonight."

In particular, Talton.

"You have to tip your hat to him, he's obviously a heck of a player," Fick said. "The shots he hit ... yes, he scored 45 points, but how many of those were just daggers shots?"

The first three quarters were merely a tune-up for the fourth --- and beyond. The Falcons (16-4) led 16-10 after one quarter, before the Panthers (18-3) took leads of 27-26 at the half and 42-37 after three.

And when Monroe City scored the first five points of the fourth, it was a 10-point lead.

"They were doing a really good job of mixing up defenses," Fick said, "and we didn't do a very good job of recognizing it."

Game over? It was just starting.

Because after scoring 37 points in three-plus quarters, the Falcons scored 46 in the equivalent of less than two quarters the rest of the way.

"We made a move to go smaller," Fick said. "We had four guards on the floor and spread it out a little more, and we did a good job of going downhill and driving to the basket and finding the open guy.

"And when you make shots, everything looks better."

Down 47-37, Blair Oaks rattled off 12 straight points, a run that included five consecutive points by junior Braydan Pritchett and an inside score by 6-7 sophomore Eric Northweather --- who came up big down the stretch --- with the latter giving the Falcons a 51-49 lead with three minutes left.

The Blair Oaks lead was 57-51 with 30 seconds to play and 61-56 with less than 10 seconds left. But then Talton hit a 3-pointer with 8 seconds left and Monroe City forced a turnover, before Blair Oaks seemed to get lost defensively on the inbounds play, leaving Bryce Stark open to score on a short jumper to force overtime at 61-61.

"We had a chance to win in regulation," Fick said, "and couldn't inbound the ball."

It was tied 71-71 with 2.3 seconds left in the first overtime when the Falcons' Tim Fick knocked home a 3-pointer.

74-71 Blair Oaks, only 2.3 left. Over? Nah.

Talton came down and hit a 24-foot bomb on the right wing at the buzzer to force overtime No. 2. Did Talton know?

"Yep," he said. "I felt it as soon as I shot it."

"He has ice in his veins," Fick said. "There were so many times that you think you have the game won and he pulled another one out of his hat."

All in a day's work, Talton said.

"I was confident," said Talton, a special player who was averaging 25 a game before this career-high 45-point night. "If I wasn't confident, it wasn't going in. We had that play designed a long time ago, and we finished it."

The highest praise wasn't for his teammates, however.

"I guess I was in the zone," Talton said, "thanks to the Lord above."

It was more Talton to start the second OT --- eight straight points to make it 79-71 Monroe City with less than a minute left. Over?

Obviously, you haven't been paying attention.

Tim Fick matched Talton nearly shot for shot down the stretch. Fick went scoreless in the first half, but finished with 26 points, including two tightly-guarded 3-pointers in a 12-second span to get the Falcons within 80-77 with 28 seconds left.

"He was frustrated early," Ryan Fick said of his son, "because he was getting good looks, he just couldn't knock them down. He showed some maturity in the fact that he continued to shoot, and he stepped up and made plays."

Fans should have gone back and paid 5 more bucks to watch this one.

"I thought the atmosphere was pretty dead for three quarters," Ryan Fick said. "But then as the game went along and guys started making plays, all of a sudden, the place came alive."

Talton agreed.

"The atmosphere was crazy," he said. "Guys were hitting shots. it was going back and forth, it was very competitive ... and it was a lot of fun."

All great things must come to an end ... but this one didn't end without a fight. The Panthers led 83-80 with 5 seconds left with Tim Fick was fouled --- on a 3-point attempt.

Money. Fick hit all three and it was tied again.

Both teams were out of timeouts, so we played on. Not surprisingly, the Panthers put it in Talton's hands and he raced down the right side to about 15 feet from the rim. He stopped on a dime. Tim Fick was chasing after him, full speed, and couldn't avoid bumping into Talton.

This was no accident, Talton said.

"That was part of the play," he said with a smile. "I knew (Fick) was right on my hip, so I knew if I stopped, I'd create space for my shot or he'd foul me. And he did."

Talton canned both free throws with a half-second left and it was 85-83.

It was over. Finally

"We could have gone and found somebody to play who really wouldn't challenge us," Ryan Fick said, "but this was a game that we can learn from."

And not soon forget.

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For all of Saturday's scores, please see:

http://krcgtv.com/sports/content/area-sports-scores-february-3-2018