Monday night’s Region 8-AAAA tournament quarterfinal matchup between Apalachee High School and Cedar Shoals had everything a fan could hope for.
The game had several lead changes. The game featured two teams doing everything they could to win. And, the game had a buzzer-beating 3-pointer which turned out to be the game-winner.
Unfortunately for the Wildcats, it was the Cedar Shoals Jaguars who connected on the 3-pointer to escape, literally, with a 71-70 win.
The loss overshadowed, at least temporarily, a remarkable turnaround season for Apalachee.
“We looked like a completely different team than we did even back in November,” said Wildcat coach Kevin Morris after the emotional loss. “We wore them out tonight. We outplayed them. I am very proud of our guys for the improvement they showed this season.”
After winning just one game a year ago, the AHS team was within a fraction of a second from qualifying for the state tournament this season.
Trailing by four points at halftime, the Wildcats took the lead with 6:52 left on a basket by Rakim Peters. AHS would lead by as many as five points in the fourth quarter and held a 68-63 lead with 48 seconds to play after two free throws by Jamari Fuller.
Jermaine Smith made 1-of-2 free throws with just under nine seconds to play for a 70-68 lead.
Cedar Shoal’s Kevon Scott, who scored a game-high 24 points, then made an NBA-length 3-pointer as time ticked away. Initially the clock reached zero although officials did put .4 seconds back on. Having to go the entire length of the floor, however, left the Wildcats with little hope of regaining the lead.
Cameron Blakely finished with a team-high 19 points but he fouled out with 2:29 left.
Peters added 12 points while Smith and Brandon Grullon both scored nine. Fuller had a strong performance with seven points with Jonah German and Vontez Heard both contributing six points in a balanced effort.
“Cameron played great, Rakim played great and Jermaine played well,” Morris said. “We had a great effort defensively. At the end, Qua (Cleveland) guarded Scott as well as you can. We were concerned that he might drive inside. Shooting 3-pointers is really not his game. He just made a good shot.”
Cedar Shoals held a seven-point lead after the first quarter and took a 31-27 lead into halftime.
The teams went back and forth in the third quarter after which AHS led 48-47 following a buzzer-beater by Grullon.
“We were 1-24 last year,” Morris said. “Tonight, we were three seconds away from the state tournament with practically the same team. It was a great job by our kids tonight and throughout the season.”
