The Siuslaw Vikings boys basketball team got what they needed Tuesday night, and then some.

Employing most of their roster, the Vikings scrapped to a 72-71 season-opening victory in overtime over the visiting Pleasant Hill Billies.

The Vikings will get precious little time to savor the win, returning to Glenn Butler Court on Wednesday night against the North Bend Bulldogs.

The game follows the Lady Vikings game with North Bend, which tips off at 5:45 p.m.

Coast Radio will be on the air at 5:30 p.m.

Juniors Braydon Thornton, with 23, and Brody Terry, with 19, were the only Vikings in double figures.

"Braydon Thornton was player of the game for us 23 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 12 steals and a charge (received)," Siuslaw coach Dylan Perry said.

"I've never seen a high school player get 12 steals in a game before. It was an unbelievable performance."

Junior Braedyn Cantrell had a game-high 26 points for the Billies, 23 in the second half, while 6-foot-7 senior center Jackson Gielish and 5-7 junior guard Jett Seitz had 19 each.

Seitz scored 15 of his points from 3-point range, or so the officials eventually ruled.

Seitz's fifth 3-pointer as time ran out in the fourth quarter tied the game at 64-64, capping a 14-point comeback in the second half by the Billies, who trailed 48-34 late in the third quarter.

Seitz's shot appeared to be within the arc, but an official ruled it a 3-point goal, and the game went into overtime after several minutes of discussion.

The Vikings went ahead for good at 2:12 of overtime on a pair of free throws by Terry, 68-66. Terry hit two more free throws with 24.8 seconds to play to give Siuslaw a six-point lead, 72-66.

Seitz nailed a 3-pointer from well behind the arc with 14.1 seconds to play to cut the Siuslaw lead to three, 72-69. The Billies threw up a couple of 3-point attempts in the closing seconds, but misfired. Gielish rolled in a meaningless 2-point layin as time elapsed for the final 72-71 score.

Pleasant Hill took early command of the game, leading 12-7, with Gielish scoring the Billies' first 10 points.

Siuslaw responded with a 15-0 run fueled by back-to-back 3-pointers by Thornton for a 22-12 lead at 5:31 of the second quarter. The teams essentially played the balance of the first half to a draw, the Vikings taking a 37-26 lead into the second half.

The Vikings methodically extended their lead to 14, 48-34, when Cantrell scored 19 of his game-high points during a 26-11 stretch that gave the Billies' their only lead of the second half, 60-59.

Thornton and Terry had very different scoring nights in leading the Vikings offense.

Thornton had eight field goals, including a team-high three 3-pointers.

Terry hit all 12 of his free throws, 10 in the second half, including a critical 4-for-4 in overtime.

In other games Tuesday involving Sky-Em League teams, Creswell beat Elmira 67-40 and Junction City beat Harrisburg 62-49. Brookings-Harbor at Marshfield was canceled.

PLEASANT HILL  12 14 17 21 7 — 71
SIUSLAW              18 19 13 14 8 — 72
Pleasant Hill — Braedyn Cantrell 6 12-19 26, Jackson Gielish 6 7-9 19, Jett Seitz 6 2-2 19, Jack Thornton  1 0-0 3, Matt Dutton 1 0-0 2, Chase Huff 1 0-0 2. Totals 21 21-30 71.
3-point goals — Jett Seitz 5, Braedyn Cantrell 2, Jack Thornton 1.
Siuslaw — Braydon Thornton 8 4-8 23, Brody Terry 3 12-12 19, Liam McClellan 3 2-2 9, Avery Hart 2 3-6 7, Jacob Foskett 2 1-4 5, Aiden Jefferis 2 0-0 4, Tyrone Krohn 1 0-0 3, Harrison Hubner 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 22-32 72.
3-point goals — Braydon Thornton 3, Brody Terry 1, Liam McClellan 1, Tyrone Krohn 1.