Thursday night’s boys basketball game at Williston was a blowout in the second half.

The host Red Devils led Gainesville High by 21 with 5:59 to play in the third quarter.

But then the Hurricanes got hot.

GHS, which only scored 14 points in the entire first half, scored 25 in the third quarter and took the lead in the fourth quarter before falling to the Red Devils, 68-65, in overtime.

“I was really disappointed with how we played in the first half,” said GHS coach Mike Barnes. “That’s obviously not the best that we could play, but I talked to the guys at halftime and said, ‘you know, there’s no 20-point shot, and we’ve just got to chip away and play hard and do what we do best,’ and they did that. I’m proud of us for that. We just couldn’t finish it.”

They almost did.

With 27 seconds remaining in regulation, sophomore AJ Jenkins Jr. hit two free throws to give the Hurricanes (1-3) a 55-52 lead.

Williston (3-0) answered on a reverse layup by freshman Malichi Fernandez (6 points) to get within one, 55-54, with 18 seconds left.

Jenkins (8 points) got fouled and went back to the line with 13 seconds left, but he missed both free throws. However, senior Craig Thomas Jr. got the offensive rebound and was fouled with 9.4 seconds remaining.

Thomas (18 points) sank both free throws for a 57-54 lead, which was short-lived.

Red Devils senior guard Traeston Armstrong (15 points) launched a 3-pointer from the right wing that went in just seconds before the buzzer to tie the game at 57-all and sent the game into overtime.

“Trae wanted the ball there,” said Williston coach Jim Ervin. “He said, ‘get me the ball.’ He wanted the ball. He’s one of our two seniors playing right now, and he wanted the ball…just a big shot for him. Big shot for our program.”

Williston scored the first nine points in overtime for a 66-57 lead.

Sophomore guard Jac Edwards (16 points) hit a right-wing 3-pointer to start the 9-0 run, followed by a layup.

That was followed by a dunk by junior Jaden Magee (15 points) and an offensive putback by Magee.

Gainesville (1-3) didn’t give up.

A top-of-the-key 3-pointer by junior Willie Brooks made it a two-possession game, and after a free throw by sophomore Corvaughn White and two free throws by Thomas, the ‘Canes were within a possession.

Brooks, who led GHS with 21 points, including 12 in the third quarter, finished off the 8-0 run with a layup to get within one, 66-65, with 40 seconds remaining in overtime.

“He played excellent,” Barnes said. “He always plays hard. You know, all our guys play hard all the time. He’s a leader. He’s a special player and he’s got a really bright future. I love having him here.”

Armstrong iced the game with a pair of free throws with 23 seconds remaining to help keep the Red Devils unbeaten.

“I think we came out in the first half really aggressive and not underestimating them, winning at halftime, really excited,” Armstrong said. “Then we went out in the second half, and we thought it was just gonna be a walk in the park, and they started inching back and inching back. I think us, being a young team, that’s probably the reason why.”

Senior AJ Hall added nine points for Gainesville, which will play Forest (Ocala) at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday in the Tim Brinkley Shootout at North Marion (Citra).

Williston will host Columbia (Lake City) at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.

“Our kids’ expectations are to win night-in and night-out,” Ervin said. “They never thought they were ever going to lose that game all night long. I think it’s just a will to win. We believe in one thing: playing until the horn blows and the best team hopefully comes out on top. If not, we’ve given it our all.”