Selma High survives nail-biter at Wallace Community College-Selma

Published 10:15 pm Friday, December 7, 2018

Selma High barely remained unbeaten against its county rivals.

Jarvis Moss scored 17 points as the Saints held off Elwood Christian Academy (ECA) 48-47 on Friday night at Wallace Community College-Selma.

Selma (7-5) has beaten Keith twice, ECA twice and Dallas County once. The Saints host Southside next Friday night and travel to face the Panthers on Jan. 18.

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“We’ve established a relationship with Ellwood Christian,” Saints coach Ronald Lane said. “The kids from both sides grew up together.”

The contest was decided in the final seconds during a back-and-forth fourth quarter, as each team had a chance to take control.

Moss’ three-pointer gave the Saints a 46-42 lead with 1:20 left to play. Justin Buford’s three-point play brought the Eagles (2-4) within 46-45. Tra’Veon Rogers’ two free throws put the Saints up 48-45 with 17 seconds left. Joseph Mahone’s layup cut the Saints’ lead to 48-47 with six second left.

ECA had a final chance to pull out a last-second victory after Rogers’ missed free throw, but Mahone couldn’t get a shot off as time expired as the Saints held on.

“It was an intense game, we did what we had to do to win the game,” D’Javion Manzie said.

Selma jumped out to a 10-9 first quarter lead as Manzie scored six points.

ECA caught fire in the second quarter, outscoring Selma 18-9 to grab a 27-19 halftime lead. Mahone scored 10 of his game-high 18 points in the quarter.

The Saints took advantage of ice-cold ECA shooting in the third quarter, grabbing a 34-32 lead after three quarters. The Eagles missed 10 of their 11 field goal attempts in the quarter, getting outscored 15-5.

That set the stage for an exciting fourth quarter.

“It was an intense game, ECA and Selma bring out the best in each other,” Lane said. “If we hit free throws in the first half, we would’ve been up six or seven points. The kids came out in the second half and hit free throws.”

Selma High girls 79, ECA 1: Tasharri Grimes scored 23 points, while Rodericka Parker added 13 to lead the Lady Saints (6-6).