NORTH EASTON – In an early-season Hockomock Davenport division battle between Mansfield and Oliver Ames, the hosting Tigers ultimately had the upper hand as a game-winning three-pointer by junior Josiah Marshall and a shot block by senior captain Justin Grimaldi helped them win in overtime, 59-58.

“The guys just trust each other, and Jojo [Josiah Marshall] is a great shooter,” said Tigers coach Eric MacKinnon, “he didn’t play a ton in the second half, and at the end, he was ready to go when that ball went to him.”

Oliver Ames (3-0) is on a hot streak to start the season, winning against Franklin and King Phillip before this match, while Mansfield (1-2) was trying to bounce back from its loss against Attleboro on Saturday.

Oliver Ames was down 11-8 before the final minute of the first quarter, then a pair of threes from Vinny Morningstar and Dylan Pompilis gave the Tigers a 14-11 lead.

The Tigers also led by three to end the first half as both teams provided fireworks, with sophomore Kacyn Connor going on a fast break after a steal and finishing with a sweet sunk shot, which had cut it down to 18-14. Later on in the quarter, Tigers point guard Jacob Lok put up an alley-oop layup to Zaire Maddox, which had made it 23-17. Oliver Ames led 25-22 at the end of the half.

In the third, Mansfield’s Tommy Vallett provided the Hornets’ first lead since allowing those two three-pointers at the end of the first quarter, as he was fouled on the shot, and ultimately missed on the three-point play. After the Tigers tied it at 39, the Hornets went to the charity stripe again, with Darrian Sanders, who made one of his two shots, which would have Mansfield lead 40-39 at the end of the third. Zok also made a couple of key threes in the quarter, including one after a steal.

In the fourth, a key turnover by Grimaldi helped the Tigers to tie it again at 47, as he delivered an assist to Pompilis with 2:30 left in the game. The teams went back and forth with Vallett tying it at 51 with a layup for Mansfield. Both teams ended up not making a shot on their final possessions, which took it to overtime.

In overtime, Grimaldi made the opening three-pointer of the extended period for the Tigers. Then Mansfield went on a 7-0 run with five points from Sanders, including a three, and a pair of free throws from Matas Gutauskas.

The Tigers inched closer with two free throws from Maddox, and then Marshall hit the three from the right corner of the court with four seconds left. Mansfield takes one more possession, with Sanders going up the court for a layup, with Grimaldi putting the final blow on the Hornets with a shot block, which had the Tiger home crowd, with their Santa Hats and Christmas-themed gear, go onto the court and celebrate the Tiger victory.

“You always got to stay ready, no matter what the situation is,” Marshall said, “I knew, if I’m in that position, I have to make sure to make my shot, and that’s what I did.”

Grimaldi led the way with 22 points on the night for the Tigers, Maddox followed with 13 and 4-of-6 on free throws, Lok had eight, Pompilis had seven, and Marshall had six, as he hit two threes in the game.

Sanders had the game high with 30 points, with three rebounds, and three assists, including 5-of-10 from the free throw line. Gutauskas followed with 14 points and seven rebounds. Vallett had six points, with five coming in the second half. Connor had six, and Troy Lasbury-Casey hit two free throws and went 2/4 from the line.