Martin’s bid for a second straight Southwest Athletic Conference divisional title fell short Friday night, 61-56, in an overtime showdown against Bloomingdale.

The ballgame was close almost throughout the evening. Martin led 18-16 at the end of the first quarter, was down 30-27 at intermission and 39-37 at the end of three.

Sophomore Carter Hilton nailed a three-pointer early in the second period to put the Clippers up by five. But in the back-and-forth struggle, Bloomingdale slowly overtook Maryin to take the three-point lead into the locker room.

Though the Clippers trailed by five through much of the third quarter, they were able to tie the game at 40 early in the fourth, then take a two-point lead on a bucket from Colin Warner. Senior guard-forward Andrew Boss then hit a three and Bloomingdale scored a two and hit two free throws to make it 45-44.

Martin was up by three with time winding down but the Cardinals were able to knock down a three to tie the game at the end of regulation.

In the overtime, Bloomingdale scored first and the Clippers were able to tie it back up with a bucket from Hilton. But the visitors then went ahead by four and Boss cut the margin to two.

“They (the Cardinals) were in the double bonus and were able to make one to take a three point lead,” said coach David Curry. “We took a timeout to set up our play and executed it to get the ball near half court after we took another timeout with five seconds remaining. Bloomingdale was able to steal on the inbound pass a made a layup to finish the game.

“I’m once again very proud of the kids’ effort tonight,” the coach added. They never quit the entire game, which is the way it has been the entire year. The grit and determination this team has is unbelievable.”

Tanner Curry paced the attack for Martin with 19 points and nine rebounds. He now sits at 1,007 for his career, good enough to currently tie him for 11th all time in the MHSAA.

Hilton finished with 16 points, Boss added 10. Hilton also gathered nine rebounds.

The Clippers, who begin district play March 7, now have a 10-8 overall record and finished at 7-2 in their SAC division, both losses coming to Bloomingdale.

PHOTO: Tanner Curry has more than 1,000 rebounds in his high school career and is 11th in the state’s history in that category.