Luke Powell throws down a dunk near the end of the third quarter during host Barnesville's 65-56 comeback win against Coshocton in a Division III sectional game on Thursday. Powell scored a game-high 27 points.

BARNESVILLE — With its season hanging in the balance and staring up a 2-point deficit entering the fourth quarter, Barnesville successfully turned it up a notch.

And it paid off.

The Shamrocks, who had a roller coaster of a regular season, outscored invading Coshocton by 11 in the fourth en route a cherished 65-56 victory in a Division III sectional opener.

“At this point, we’re just surviving and playing,” Barnesville head coach Matt Johnson said. “It honestly doesn’t matter how you do it. We’re excited to win and we’ll see what happens on Friday.”

The Shamrocks will be on the road seeking a sectional title Friday night. They’ll take on Tuscarawas Valley, which is located in Zoar, in a 7 p.m. tip with a trip to the district tournament on the line.

Before any thought could be shifted to Tusky Valley, the Shamrocks (13-10) had their hands full for the better part of three quarters with a Redskins’ club, which finished with a 7-16 record.

“It’s kind of disappointing because we didn’t play with much energy for basically the entire first three quarters,” Johnson said. “To come out in a tournament game and not have the energy is disappointing.”

The Shamrocks, who trailed by as many as 10 in the first half, found themselves down one at halftime and then, at the final stop, looked up at the 43-41 score.

“I thought a big key was in the first half that we didn’t let the game get away from us because we’ve done that lately,” Johnson said. “We’ve gotten down, don’t defend and just bury ourselves. I thought we were able to defend, make some shots and surive.”

Behind a pair of deep treys from Luke Powell, the Shamrocks opened the fourth on a 16-4 run. They led by as many as 12 and the Redskins only got as close as seven.

Barnesville meshed 10-of-16 from the line in the fourth, which helped to keep the Redskins at bay.

“Foul shooting hasn’t been our best friend lately, but we played two straight games without hardly getting to the line,” Johnson pointed out. “That’s unacceptable because you’re just not being aggressive with the ball when that happens.”

Along with the timely free throws, the Shamrocks also held Coshocton to just three field goals in the fourth.

Powell led all scorers in the game with 28. The West Liberty signee, who now has 2,350 points in his career, frequently passed up good looks for a better look for a teammate.

“I thought Luke played very well,” Johnson said. “I thought he found people well when he had to.”

The key most of the season for Barnesville’s success was how well Powell’s supporting cast played around him.

Though only Kason Powell — Luke’s cousin — cracked double figures with 10 points, Barnesville had seven total players dent the scoring column.

“We had other guys make some shots, which made them guard those other people, which opened up a lot of things for us.”

Jeremy Hunkler and Colton Hines evenly divided 14.

Coshocton was led by senior Gaven Williams, who had 20. Classmate Carson Coffman had 12 points and eight boards.