GAINESVILLE -– There was plenty of history made Saturday night following Flowery Branch’s thrilling 85-81 overtime win over East Hall in the Region 7-AAA boys final at the Gainesville gym.
It was the first-ever region title for the Falcons (24-3) and it also marked the first time since 2001 that one team knocked off the Vikings (22-6) twice in the same season. The Falcons had beaten East Hall 79-59 back on Nov. 30th in their fourth game of the season.
“It’s just a blessing for us all,” Flowery Branch coach Todd Cottrell said after getting doused with water by his team. “You can never underestimate kids. This team has just shown a lot of heart all year and I’m very happy for them.”
The Falcons will play host to the No. 4 seed out of Region 5-AAA on Friday in the first round of the Class AAA playoffs. Meanwhile, East Hall will play host to the No. 3 seed from 5-AAA, likely South Atlanta, which features projected future NBA star Derek Favors.
Vikings’ coach Joe Dix said it was just one of those great high school games at playoff time.
“It sure was. Both teams played hard and they did a great job on us defensively in the second half. You have to give (Flowery Branch) credit,” he said.
Trailing 63-48 early in the fourth quarter, things looked bad for the Falcons. Real bad. The Vikings had just put the finishing touches on a 13-7 run and looked to be taking control of the game. But the Falcons showed the kind of heart that has carried them to their best-ever season.
Two consecutive baskets by A.C. Bailey, who finished with a team-high 18 points, pulled Flowery Branch to within 63-52. Following a Ken Wise basket, the Falcons exploded for a 22-6 run over a 5:03 span -- capped by a Bailey 3-pointer -- to give them their first lead, 70-67, since 15-13 in the first quarter.
That’s when Conner Shaw took over for the Falcons. After a Dedric Ware 3-pointer tied the game for East Hall, Shaw connected on two free throws with 29 seconds left. Ware, however, sent the game into overtime with a driving layup with three seconds left.
In the overtime, Shaw said it was his time to shine. He scored the first four points and seven of his 11 points in extra period, including a huge 3-pointer with 1:09 left that gave the Falcons an 82-78 lead they never relinquished.
“I want the ball at the end of the game, and it just kind of came to me,” Shaw said. “I got hot at the right time and was able to help the team.”
The game wasn’t sealed until Izaan Cross hit 1-of-2 free throws with 10 seconds left for the final margin of victory.
Free throws played a factor as the Falcons were 25-of-42 from the line, compared to just 8-of-13 for East Hall.
“I would’ve liked for us to have gotten to the line more but it didn’t happen,” Dix said. “Plus, we turned the ball over too much in the fourth quarter.”
The Vikings missed two shots in the final 30 seconds as they tried to cut into an 84-81 deficit.
Wise finished with 20 points to lead East Hall. Ware had 15 and Trevor Bishop 11 for the Vikings.
Izaan Cross had 16 points and 14 rebounds for Flowery Branch. Josh Barrett had 14 and Chris Lipscomb 10 for the Falcons.
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Posted: Saturday, February 16th 2008 at 10:03pm
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