Lookout Valley boys' basketball coach Eric Ford may have been wondering if one of his teams would ever beat Sale Creek.
Well, he can wonder no more.
Ford, who succeeded the retiring Joe Galloway as the Yellow Jackets' head coach at the end of the 2012-13 season, had seen his teams lose 11 consecutive games to the Panthers before Tuesday. And that one wasn't easy as Lookout Valley needed an overtime period to defeat Sale Creek 75-71 at Lookout Valley.
The important thing for this season is that it moves Lookout Valley (12-3) to 3-1 in the District 4-A high school standings as it tries to keep up with district leader Tellico Plains at 2-0.
"It's huge," Ford said. "We want to win our first district tournament since Joe was here. This is a team that can do that. It's a state-tournament caliber team, if we don't turn the ball over."
It was the first district game of the season for Sale Creek (8-9) because its Dec. 8 game at Copper Basin was snowed out. The teams have rescheduled for Feb. 12 with the girls at 5:30 p.m. and the boys at 7.
Lookout Valley's loss was by one point at Tellico Plains, which comes to Sale Creek on Friday.
"It ought to be highly contested," Sale Creek coach David Helton said of the district race for first place.
The Panthers were down 65-62 when Jason Holland converted a three-point play with 34.1 seconds to go in regulation. Teammate Luke Smith then made a key block underneath right before the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
Ford praised the play of his guard Larry McCullough, calling him "the difference in the game." In addition to his rebounding, passing and coming up with steals - one he turned into a dunk that enabled Lookout Valley to tie the game at 35 after trailing all the way until then - McCullough also led the Yellow Jackets with 23 points.
His basket with 27.4 seconds left in OT put them up by one, and then he got his own rebound when he failed to complete the three-point play. McCullough was fouled again and made the first of two free throws before Sale Creek had an errant pass sail over the endline with 17.5 seconds remaining.
Jalen Moore, who added 22 points, sealed the victory with two free throws with 7.6 seconds showing.
"Our quick is different than their quick," Ford said. "We're looking to get layups in transition. They force you to take quick shots, like 15-footers. We're just not used to playing that game.
"We didn't force the ball in as much in overtime. In the overtime we penetrated their zone and were able to kick it out and look for an open shot, or drive it in from out there."
Holland finished with 30 points, making five 3-point goals with four coming in a 20-12 first quarter. He was also one of three Panthers to foul out.
"We started well," Helton said. "That was good. A lot of times when you get a lead like that, you relax. But I don't think that's what happened. We just got to forcing shots and not being patient. They got the steal and the big dunk, the crowd got into the ballgame and we let that get to us."
"You can't do things like that at the end, especially against a good team on the road. You can't turn the ball over and win."
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him on Twitter @KelleySmiddie.