For most, it would have seemed momentum was on the side of the Middletown boys basketball team Friday night heading into overtime.

Vincent Edwards had forced overtime by swatting a shot from Lakota West’s Monty Boykins with three seconds left in the contest to keep the game knotted at 65-65.

However, Boykins knew something else.

“Overtime was our quarter,” Boykins said after scoring nine of West’s first 10 points in overtime, leading the Firebirds to a 76-72 win over the Middies in a key Greater Miami Conference opener at West High School Friday night. “We came out and jumped on them from the start and didn’t look back.”

Boykins scored the first seven points of the extra quarter to give the hosts a 71-65 lead, but the Middies — behind five points from Edwards — came back to cut it to 72-70 win 54 seconds left. After a Lakota West turnover, Edwards was able to close the gap back to two, 74-72, with 10 ticks left, but Malik Grove beat the press and laid one in with one second left for the final margin.

“I have had him (Boykins) for four years, and he really felt it was time for him to take over the game and he did,” Lakota West coach Sean Van Winkle said after his squad improved to 2-0 and 1-0 in the league. “And, he did a great job holding (Jalin) Marshall scoreless in the overtime.”

It didn’t look like an extra session would ever be needed.

The Middies led 34-29 at the break and pushed the lead to 53-43 heading into the final eight minutes. A basket by Marshall (19 points) gave Middletown a 61-51 lead with 4:30 left in the contest, but the Firebirds came storming back with a 12-2 run to tie the game at 63-63 on a basket by Tyler Bowling with 1:25 left. Boykins gave West the lead with a minute left, but Denarius Dean tied it for Middletown with 47 seconds left.

“We did everything we wanted for the majority of the game,” Middletown coach Josh Andrews said after his squad fell to 0-2, 0-1. “We got panicky down the stretch and in overtime, and our shot selection was questionable. We need more time together as a team; we didn’t finish quarters well, but we will get there.”