The No. 3 Keith Bears were down by double digits late in the fourth, but never gave up, as a buzzer-beating shot by Martavius Harris lifted them to a 53-51 win at the Selma Saints on Friday.

Tommy Tisdale, head boys basketball coach of Keith (5-4, 1-0, No. 3 Class 1A), said big play from bench players Walton Young and Demarquis Lumpkin, along with the Bears never quitting, helped give them a chance, and Harris hit the big shot.

“We do a lot of situations in practice … but it’s very hard to put yourself in a situation like on the road at Selma, packed house, rivalry game, but we’ve been in situations and the guys were executing as well as I could ask them,” Tisdale said. “It was about 10 points [down] with three minutes left and I told them it’s not out of reach. I kept saying we’ve still got a chance. They believed the whole night. That was a very exiciting finish and I’m so proud of them right now. The game winner by Martavius, that was all him. He just had the ball and good thing it came out our way.”

Keith trailed 43-31, when Rodney Ellis hit a 3-pointer to make it 44-34 with 4:27 left to play in the game.

Kahmal Jones hit a jumper for Selma to make it 45-34, but Ellis responded with a another 3-pointer that made it 45-37 with 4:04 left.

A pair of free throws by Jones and Ricky Simpson scored on a layup to make it 47-39, but Ellis once again buried a 3-pointer to make it 47-42 with 1:53 left.

The three by Ellis sparked a Keith run, as Young scored on a layup and hit the free throw after being fouled in the act to cut the Selma lead to 47-45 with 1:35 left.

Jones hit two more free throws to make it 49-45, but Carstella Hayes hit a huge 3-pointer that bounced off the back iron and in, making the score 49-48 with 53 seconds left.

With the Saints in the double bonus, Jones and teammate Devontae Rembert went to the line on back-to-back trips up the court, but both only converted one of their two attempts to put the score at 51-48.

The Bears called a timeout and came out with a play Tisdale said was designed for Ellis, but with him heavily guarded and the defense covering Keith 3-point specialist Anfernee Simmons, Hayes found himself wide open at the top of the arch, as he hit another crucial 3-pointer that tied the game at 51-51 with 14 seconds left to play.

The Saints rushed up the court and Jones had the ball with only one man to beat to the basket, but was called for traveling, as the Bears got the ball with six seconds left to play.

Keith hurried the ball up the court and got it to Harris who, with two defenders draped over him, dribbled just outside the paint and hit a jumper while he was falling away out of bounds as time expired, hitting nothing but net to secure win for the Bears as his teammates ran over to celebrate.

Woodie Jackson, head boys basketball coach of Selma High School, said when it came down to it, Keith just hit the shots it needed to when it needed to.

“They made the shot and we didn’t,” Jackson said.

Jones led Selma with 17 points, 15 rebounds and 7 blocks, while Rembert added 11 points and 4 rebounds, and Jesse Boggs pitched in 8 points and 8 rebounds for Selma.

Young had 15 points, while Ellis had 11 points for Keith.

Selma will take the floor again on Saturday at rival Southside starting at 4 p.m., while Keith will face Class 2A No. 1 R.C. Hatch in Orrville starting at 5 p.m.