By Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

PORTSMOUTH — Xander Dornon is the center for the South Point Pointers and the senior was the center of attention on Tuesday.

Dornon hit a 3-point goal at the buzzer to give the Pointers a 56-53 win over the Portsmouth Trojans in an Ohio Valley Conference game.

“We started off well but then went into a funk and we didn’t shoot well,” said Pointers’ coach Travis Wise.

“But in the end, we found a way to win and Xander clutched up and hit a big shot.”

The win keeps the Pointers atop the OVC with an 8-1 record. They arena 12-3 overall.

Caleb Lovely led the Pointers with 22 points and also grabbing 7 rebounds. Dornon had 9 points, 10 rebounds and 2 steals and Jordan Ermalovich 8 points, 3 assists and 2 steals.

Devon Lattimore had 17 points and Deandre Berry 16 to lead Portsmouth (4-9, 2-7).

Lovely and Jaxon Vance each had 5 points as they both drilled 3-pointers while Xathan Haney also had a 3-pointer.

Donovan Breech and Berry each hit 3-pointers and Lattimore had 4 points for the Trojans.

Portsmouth battled back to take a 25-20 halftime lead as Duncan drained a pair of 3-pointers and Breech had a trey to key the rally.

South Point struggled offensively as they got only 7 points with Ermalovich hit a 3-pointer and both Lovely and Dornon going 2-of-2 at the line.

The Pointers held the Trojans to just 6 points in the third quarter and got within 31-30 at the end of the stanza.

Lovely had 4 points with Haney hitting another trey as the Pointers got 10 points.

South Point tied the game at 44-all to force the game into overtime.

Lovely scored 7 points including 5-of-6 free throws. The Pointers were 12-of-15 at the line in the quarter as a team with Dornon going 4-of-5.

Lattimore scored 7 points and Berry had a pair of baskets for the Trojans.

In overtime, Lovely scored 4 points, Ermalovich had a 3-point play and Vance got a basket before Dornon hit his clutch shot.

Berry hit a triple and scored 5 points and Lattimore had the other 4 points for the Trojans.

South Point    13 7 10 14 12 = 56

Portsmouth 12 13 6 13 9 = 53

SOUTH POINT (12-3, 8-1): Caleb Lovely 6 1 7-8 22, Carter Smith 1 0 0-0 2, Elijah Wilburn 0 0 0-0 0, Xathan Haney 0 2 1-2 7, Josh Childers 0 0 0-0 0, Jaxon Vance 2 1 0-0 7, Jordan Ermalovich 1 1 3-3 8, Xander Dornon 0 1 6-7 9, Jackson Childers 0 0 1-2 1. Totals:16-50 18-22 56. 3-pt goals: 6-20. Rebounds: 38 (Dornon 10 Lovely 7, Haney 5). Assists: 5 (Ermalovich 3). Steals: 9 (Dornon 2, Ermalovich 2, Vance 2). Turnovers: 17. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: None.

PORTSMOUTH (4-9, 2-7): Donovan Branch 0 2 0-0 6, Devon Lattimore 7 0 3-9 17, Kenny Sanderlin 2 0 0-0 4, Tyler Duncan 0 2 0-0 6, Deandre Berry 5 2 0-0 16, Noah Livingston 1 0 0-0 2, Levaughn Cobb 0 0 0-0 0, Isaiah Lewis 0 0 0-0 0, Luke Stine 1 0 0-0 2. Totals: 16 6 3-9 53. Fouls: 17 Fouled out: None.