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The Harvey boys basketball team made it a memorable day at the annual Horace Mann Invitational Tournament Saturday, Dec. 2, when the boys followed the girls' lead in winning the first-place trophy, but it didn’t come easy for the boys.

The Cavs saw their 14-point third quarter lead evaporate in the fourth quarter as the tourney host Horace Mann fought back in the final quarter to tie the game at 60-60 and force overtime.

With just 3.3 seconds remaining and with the two teams tied at 65-65, senior captain Olaf Gorski went to the free-throw line and sank the first of his two shots to put the Cavs up by one. After they took a timeout, the Lions took the ball out with just three seconds remaining. They pushed the ball up to just beyond midcourt where their forward heaved a desperation 3-pointer with time running out. The shot missed, the buzzer sounded, and the Harvey boys were tournament champions with a heart-pounding 66-65 victory. Named tournament MVP was junior Daniel Bussey with junior captain Jonah Kass and junior Roger Garrós Marti selected All-Tournament.

There was almost not going to be a chance for Gorski’s heroics in OT. With just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter, Horace Mann hit a 3-pointer to grab its first lead of the game, 58-55. But Bussey hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 58-all, and Kass followed Bussey up with a steal and took it to the hoop for two points to give Harvey the 60-58 lead. On their final possession with just 19 seconds left, Horace Mann tied the game on a layup just before the buzzer sounded to force overtime.

The overtime period was not without its drama before the Gorski free-throw. After Horace Mann connected on a 3-pointer to go up 63-60 with just two minutes left in OT, Piotr Pawell Pajewski tied it back up on a 3-pointer and put the Cavs up by two at 65-63 with a layup at the 1:31 mark. Horace Mann scored two and made it a 65-65 game with just 35 seconds left. Both teams came up empty on their subsequent possessions until Gorski, with the clock reading :03.3, was fouled trying to go up for a shot under the basket.

Harvey head coach Denis Arnautovic let out a big sigh of relief when the final buzzer sounded. The coach was impressed with how well his team handled the pressure of playing in such a hard-fought battle with a trophy at stake. “It was a tough game and we managed to stay under control when we needed the most,” Coach Arnautovic said.

Harvey had four players score in double figures. Kass led with 21, Bussey had 13, Pajewski had 12, Cameron Spruils 10, and Garrós Marti chipped in eight.

With the win, Harvey’s overall record improves to 2-1 in the early going of the winter season.