It took overtime, but Dr. Phillips scored a 51-43 road win against Olympia in a sold-out Friday night boys basketball game to maintain its lead on a league dubbed the “District of Death.”
DP (15-3), No. 2 in the Class 7A state rankings, took charge early and led 34-25 going into the fourth quarter. But fourth-ranked Olympia (16-5) rallied to force extra time with the game tied at 41.
Panthers junior Riley Kugel scored six of his 18 points in OT, including a massive offensive rebound put-back dunk with 49 seconds remaining.
DP’s victory makes it almost certain that the Panthers will be the top seed and get a first round bye into the semifinals of the Class 7A District 3 tournament, which will be hosted by Olympia with games on Feb.