For the third time this season, the Buffaloes went into overtime.  The two previous attempts ended in tough losses.

Not this time, Floyd took down the tough Giles Spartans 76-67 after taking the lead from the start of overtime Friday night and never looked back to win their first-round match of the Conference 38 tournament.

The Buffs, down seven points (36-29) at the half, battled back in the third and fourth quarters with determination and tied the game 53 all with 4:36 to go in the final regulation period.

The Spartans went back ahead 57-53 with 3:14 left, then it was 59-57 at 2:47.  Floyd took the lead 62-61 with 1:21 left.  At 8.5 seconds left in regulation, Giles took a three-point lead 65-62 and it looked like the Buffaloes faced another tough loss and elimination from the tournament but Justin Conduff sunk a critical three-pointer to tie the score at 65 all and a four-minute overtime period stood between Floyd and a win or loss.

The Buffaloes scored first, leading 67-65, then, then added a free-throw to make it 68-65, then kept adding scores until it was 74-65 with 28.5 seconds left in overtime.  Giles managed one two-point score in the overtime and the game closed out with the Buffalo win of 76-67.

The win takes the Buffs into the next round against Martinsville Monday at 6 p.m. at James River High School in Buchanan.

The Lady Buffaloes, seeded first in Conference 38, had a bye in the first round and will play Giles Tuesday night at James River after the Spartans Friday night.

Both the Monday and Tuesday games start at 6 p.m.

The conference tournaments are now almost a full week behind schedule because of the weather and hope to wrap up next week before heading into regional play.  A win in the semi-finals in conference guarantees an appearance in the region tournament.

Roger Mannon’s story and lots more photos in next week’s Floyd Press.