Saints win in a thriller

Published 11:15 pm Monday, February 13, 2012

Selma high School’s Eric Wilson breaks toward the basket in the team’s 69-66 win over Wilcox Central. The Saints were able to survive a close game in Camden and pull off the victory. -- Robert Hudson

CAMDEN — A late run by the Selma Saints put them back in the game, but a costly mistake by the Wilcox Central Jaguars put them over the top, as the Saints defeated the Jaguars 69-66 to capture the Class 5A Area 5 title Monday in Camden.

The Saints (18-11) were trailing 66-63 when Darion Alexander scored on a layup and the free throw after being fouled, tying the game at 66-66 with 0:37 remaining.

The Jaguars (18-11) had the ball with time running out and called a timeout, but they had none remaining, resulting in a technical foul that gave the Saints free throws and the ball with 0:12 left to play.

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Selma sent Tavarius Murry to the line where he hit both free throws to give the Saints a 68-66 lead with 0:12 remaining.

Selma had possession after the free throws and Wilcox was forced to foul and send Murry to the line again with time ticking down, but this time Murry only hit one of two to make it 69-66 with nine seconds remaining and leave a little hope for the Jaguars.

The Jaguars raced down the court with the clock running down and found Markarius Chapman wide open in the corner, but he missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer.

However, the Jaguars got the rebound and had one more shot, but DeAnthony Pettway’s 3-point attempt did not fall, sealing the victory for the Saints.

Saints’ head coach Woodie Jackson said his team bought in to the game plan and executed down the stretch.