Staff photo / Dan Hiner. Western Reserve’s Connor Cochran (30) drives to the hoop for a layup attempt during the second quarter of Thursday’s game against Springfield in New Middletown.

NEW MIDDLETOWN — One overtime is already a relatively rare event in high school basketball. But reaching three extra periods is almost never seen.

However, the Western Reserve boys basketball team needed those three overtimes to beat Springfield 56-52 on Thursday at Springfield High School.

“It’s crazy and it’s tiring, having to go through all the motions over and over again,” Western Reserve’s Connor Cochran said. “They kept hitting shots, we kept hitting shots. It was just a back-and-forth game overall, and we pulled it out in the end.”

The second half was when the makings for a memorable game started to emerge.

The Blue Devils (14-6, 12-3 Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Scarlet Tier) started the third on a 7-0 run before Isaac Dyer knocked down a three for the Tigers. Then an 8-0 run by Springfield closed the gap, but Josh Klasic sank back-to-back 3-pointers to close the third and extend the Blue Devils’ lead to 32-24.

Another 8-0 by the Tigers (12-9, 9-6 MVAC Scarlet) tied it at 32 with 5:04 to play, with Steven Morlan getting a tip-in to knot it up. After six straight points by Western Reserve, Isaac Dyer got a steal and a layup to tie the game up again at 39 with 1:43 remaining.

After a couple missed layups by Springfield, the Blue Devils had the ball and called a timeout with 27.2 left. Cochran missed a three and Morlan came up short on a layup for Springfield to send the game to overtime.

The two teams battled for the extra four minutes, but the score was tied at 44 with 8.3 seconds on the clock. Springfield called a timeout to set up a play, but Gentile missed a layup. Western Reserve had a chance to win it with 1.7 left, but didn’t get a shot off, leading to a second OT.

Each team hit two 3-points in the first three minutes of the sixth frame.

Springfield had the ball and called timeout with 15.2 seconds remaining, tied at 50. But the potential game-winning shot came up short, sending the game to a third overtime.

The players were understandably tired, and it showed in some questionable decision making and heavy legs. That’s when Cochran stole the ball and drove to the basket for a go-ahead layup with less than 30 seconds remaining.

“It’s almost a relief at that point, knowing you have room to work with at the end of the game … knowing that you can make a mistake, but still be in the game,” Cochran said.

The Tigers turned the ball over, and we’re forced to foul to extend the game. Cochran went to the free-throw line with 17.7 seconds left, but he split the pair to keep the door open for Springfield as the Blue Devils led 55-52.

However, the Tigers were called for a double dribble and Dominic Krut clinched the win for Western Reserve with a free throw to make it a four-point lead.

“It’s tough to lose, obviously, but we lost to a good team,” Springfield head coach Jeff Brink said. “We got a lot of respect for them. It was a great game at their place – it was a buzzer-beater at their place. Triple overtime, unfortunately somebody’s gotta lose, and they made one play more than us tonight.”

Cochran led all scorers with 23 points, and Klasic was Reserve’s other double-digit finisher with 19.

“(Cochran and Klasic) are our battery,” Western Reserve coach Joe Serensky said. “Cochran just broke the career 3-point record. Klasic’s averaging a double-double every game. They’re our two guys, and we depend on them every night. And I’m gonna be honest, there hasn’t been too many nights where they both haven’t shown up at the same time. I’m really lucky to have those two on the team.”

Isaac Dyer led the Tigers with 14 points, and Landon Dyer and Gentile both tallied 10.

“Isaac’s had a great year,” Brink said. “He’s gonna be the first freshman in the history of our school to lead the team in scoring. For a freshman, that’s an amazing thing, especially in a school like Springfield, with the great players we had and basketball success.”

The Tigers will look to rebound against the toughest team in the league. They will travel to McDonald for their regular season finale on Tuesday.

“We got a brand new team that was basically our JV team from last year,” Brink said. “We’ve got some good wins, played with some of the better teams. It’s been a very successful year, a lot of things that we’re proud of.”

Meanwhile, Western Reserve has two road games left on the calendar. They will go to Mineral Ridge on Saturday and then Southeast on Wednesday.

But first, the Blue Devils will get a little rest.

“They’re dead after a three-overtime game. I just got done telling them, I’ve been here five years, that was my first overtime game and it ended up going three overtimes,” Serensky said. “But that’s good experience. Battling, three overtimes, hopefully that pays off later in the tournament.”