With the clock ticking down the final seconds of overtime and a conference championship on the line, junior sixth man Sharonn Morton – known more for his energy and defense than his ability to score the basketball – was not the Streator Bulldogs‘ top scoring option.

“Nah,” he said at the suggestion.

But on Tuesday against the Herscher Tigers, Morton was the winning option.

Morton took a handoff from center Joe Hoesktra near the free-throw line, put his shoulder down and drove straight for the basket, making a physical, contested layup with 13.3 seconds remaining for the only points of overtime and a 36-34 Streator home victory that assured the Bulldogs at least a share of the Illinois Central Eight Conference’s 2025-26 championship.

“I knew I had my sharpshooter to my right, Layzeric Moton, so I got in the lane. [My defender] went with LA, and I knew the defender who came up on me was a little too small, so I just took him. Laid it in the hoop.

“I knew I was going to finish that.”

It was the only field goal and just the second and third points of the night for Morton, who more characteristically also provided a game-high three steals, five rebounds and two assists.

“The guy who changed the whole outcome of the game today with his play every minute he was out there was Sharonn,” Bulldogs coach Beau Doty said. “He was just on a different level of energy than everyone else on the floor tonight, and it’s just really fitting for him to get the game-winner.”

Streator (12-16 overall, 9-4 ICE), the defending ICE Conference champion, can clinch the outright title with a win Wednesday at home against Lisle.

“It feels great,” Morton said. “At practice, Coach just preaches family a lot and sticking together. I feel like that’s helped us come a long way.”

“I think,” Doty said, “that perseverance is a great word for us. We knew this year was going to be a challenge with so many green guys [and an early season-ending injury to expected leading scorer Riley Stevens] ... but this group has been very resilient through a lot of things.

“It’s been a true team effort.”

Herscher (13-18 overall, 4-10 ICE) trailed for the majority of the night until an Austin Buckley 3-pointer two minutes into the fourth quarter gave the Tigers a 30-27 advantage. They led by four with 1:46 to go in regulation before a Colin Byers’ steal and layup drew Streator within two, and a near-identical LA Moton steal-layup combination with 1:05 left tied it and eventually forced overtime.

“The first thing I told them when we got in the locker room was, ‘There’s nothing to hang your heads on. I’m not disappointed at all,’ ” Herscher coach Drew Boudreau said. “I thought our effort was great tonight, and it came down to the last few possessions, a few turnovers. But other than that, I was proud of the effort all night.

“I think both teams can honestly say they’re better than what their records are. I think Streator is, and I think we’re better than what our record shows. And right now is when you want to be playing your best basketball. Regardless of the loss, I think we are.”

Despite the dearth of points scored, neither the Bulldogs nor the Tigers held the ball during the four-minute extra period. They just didn’t shoot it any better than they did for most of regulation – Streator 1 of 4 in overtime and 16 of 50 (32.0%) on the night; Herscher 0 for 4 in overtime and 12 of 41 (29.3%) for the evening.

Hoekstra led Streator with another double-double, 14 points and 18 rebounds. Moton added nine points, Byers four off the bench and Brennen Stillwell just one point but six rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.

For Herscher, Austin Buckley scored a game-high 15 points and added five rebounds. Tanner Jones added seven points and six rebounds, while Alek Draper posted six points and three of the Tigers’ four assists.

Streator outrebounded Herscher 37-31 and won the turnovers forced battle 11-8.