The North Greene boys struggled to get shots to fall on Friday night at Unaka, but when it mattered most Lawson Davenport’s final attempt was true and the Huskies escaped Stoney Creek with a 56-55 overtime win.
“This is a tough place to play, and I’m proud of us for gutting one out when we didn’t have our fastball,” North Greene coach Sam Tarlton said. “We found a way to get it done. We’re at the point in the year where it’s survive and advance. If you don’t figure out how to win from here on out you’re going home.”
With the win North Greene wraps up District 1-1A play with a 6-0 record and will be the top seed in the upcoming district tournament.
“We know what it takes we win. We have a formula and if we follow it we’ll be successful,” Tarlton said. “Tonight I don’t think we had the urgency and toughness that we needed. And defensively I don’t think we executed the game plan the way we should have. You can’t always control whether shots are falling, but you can always control your defense.”
The Huskies led for most of the night but the fourth quarter started with things tied at 39-39.
With 2:56 left in regulation Unaka’s John Hardin put back a miss to put the Rangers in front 48-43. Davenport breathed some life into the Huskies with a pair of runners that made it a one-point game at 48-47.
Down three points with 50 seconds left North Greene fouled twice before catching a big break when a deflected inbound pass from midcourt rolled toward the Huskies’ baseline. Davenport grabbed it and worked to rim where he scored through contact for three points the hard way. that evened the score at 50-50.
With the Rangers trying to find the go-ahead bucket Jaiden Bailey forced a jump ball with 26 seconds on the clock. The Huskies held for the last shot but Tyler Britton’s contested attempt in the paint was off the mark.
The teams traded points in overtime, but with 31 seconds remaining Hardin made one of two to put the Rangers in front 55-54, but he also left the door open for North Greene.
Tarlton called a timeout with 17 seconds left to set up the last play, and with three seconds on the clock Davenport darted into the paint from the top of the key and elevated above the defense to loft in a floater that decided the outcome, a 56-55 North Greene win.
Davenport finished the day with 22 points, and 17 of those came in second half and overtime.
“If we can get Lawson to attack he is one of the best players around, but sometimes we have to beg him,” Tarlton said. “But what a huge shot that was at the end. I’d like to see more of that from him. He’s averaging seven assists a game, but we need that aggressive scoring, especially when shots aren’t falling from the outside.”
Unaka took the first lead on Friday, and when Rylan Crabtree dropped in a jumper from the block the Rangers were up 10-5. Three-pointers from Britton and Lance Carrico followed and North Greene took a 13-12 lead into the second period.
After Bailey, Britton and Carrico all hit from behind the arc North Greene took its biggest lead at 28-19 with 3:17 left in the second quarter.
Unaka answered with seven straight points to close the gap to 28-26. The first half closed with Carrico banking in a triple from the top of the key for a 31-26 lead.
North Greene struggled to get much going on offense in the third quarter and the Rangers clawed their way back into the contest. Aiden Walsh tied the score at 39-39 when he sank a three-pointer from the left wing with 1:12 left in the frame.
In addition to Davenport’s 22 points, Britton and Thomas Darnell each scored 10 points for North Greene.
T.J. Good led Unaka with 15 points, and Walsh scored 13 points.
