HUBBARD — Girard had a double-digit lead for the majority of the contest when the Indians visited Hubbard on Friday. However, the Eagles made it a two-point game with less than two minutes left in regulation.

Then, Girard senior Dominick Tolone (11 points) made a 3-pointer from the corner to help the Indians pull out a 48-39 Northeast 8 Conference victory.

“Dom Phillips (team-high 13 points) was attacking the rim all game,” Tolone said. “He drove down the middle. The defense was focused on him. I had an open shot, and I hit it. Coach told us we had to finish strong to come out with the win, and that’s what we did.”

Girard (11-8, 7-4) junior Cam Herrick scored inside and outside in a slow moving first quarter. The Indians led 12-5 heading to the second.

The Indians picked up the pace in the second, and the Eagles (5-15, 2-10) couldn’t keep up, as Girard built a 30-15 advantage at halftime. Senior Nick Rafferty (10 points) nailed three shots from downtown in the quarter.

Hubbard cut into the deficit when the second half began. Junior Jakob Hayes (game-high 18 points) started the third by completing an and-one. Anthony Clark dove to the floor for a loose ball, but a fast-break layup by Phillips put the Indians ahead 36-27 heading to the fourth.

Sophomore Dylan Bucher followed his own shot, and made one from behind the arc, and Hayes pulled down one rebound after another. Clark took a charge, stole the ball and the score was 38-36 with 1:47 to go.

“We battled back,” Hubbard coach Ryan Fitch said. “We were down the whole night. You just can’t wait until that part of the game to try to make up a 12-point deficit. We ran out of energy there. Dom Tolone hit a big three out of the corner. They weren’t scoring. He’s a senior. He made a big play when he needed to. Now, we’re going to get ready for the tournament.”

After the game, the Indians celebrated with a trophy that Hubbard and Girard play for in honor of Adam Connelly, who died in a car crash in November 2022. Connelly played basketball at Girard for coach Craig Hannon and was an assistant coach at Hubbard after he graduated.

“Every year, we have a memorial trophy game in honor of Adam Connelly,” Hannon said. “Whoever wins the second game keeps the trophy.

“We were doing all the things that you can’t do at the end of games. We turned it over. We missed free throws. We didn’t rebound. We challenged our players in the huddle. It was a tournament type atmosphere. Thank God Dom Tolone stepped up and hit one of the biggest shots he’s hit all year for us.”