Just when it appeared Selma had run out of opportunities to pull a win out of the fire over Carver-Montgomery, DeAngelo Norris stepped up and knocked down a 3-pointer with two seconds left to lift the Saints over the Wolverines 46-45 on Monday.

“(Selma) Coach (Woodie) Jackson told me to shoot a three,” said Norris. “They sagged off, and I hit it.”

The Wolverines kept Selma at arm’s length for most of the second half. They gave the Saints few opportunities to convert transition baskets and held Selma without a field goal for more than eight minutes.

Though Selma tied the contest five times in the second half, the Saints’ shooting troubles prevented them from retaking the lead. A Joe Rudolph layup gave Carver a 42-38 lead with 4:17 remaining, and the Selma faithful grew increasingly silent.

A Wendell Lewis layup with 3:30 left brought the crowd back to its feet, and Norris followed with another layup to give Selma its first lead since the 42-second mark of the third quarter.

But, Carver retook the lead on a Jamel Johnson layup to make it 44-43 with 1:53 remaining. A Travaris Williams free throw made it 45-43 with 10.5 seconds left, setting the stage for Norris’s shot.

He delivered, and pandemonium ensued.

“All the way down we had the lead until the guy hit the shot,” said Carver coach James Jackson. “You can’t ask for no more than that.”

With the win, Selma clinched the Class 5A, Area 5 tournament championship, and will host the sub-regional tournament on Friday.

“It should be a good momentum builder for us,” said Woodie Jackson. “It showed them that if they just gut it out, grit it out, in the end, good things can happen for you.”

Justin Ravizee led Selma (20-9) with 15 points. Lewis added 12 and Norris finished with 10.

Randi Tucker led the Wolverines (19-8) with 21 points.