Add another one to the collection.
The two long-time rivals needed three overtimes to determine a winner Tuesday night, with visiting Flint River pulling off a 69-65 victory in a GISA Region 4-AA game.
The Warriors went up 64-63 on a Mayokun Oshinowo 3-pointer in the third overtime, but the Wildcats finished the game on a 6-1 run to end the suspense.
Russell Durand scored all eight of Flint River’s points in the third overtime, and he was a perfect six for six on free-throw attempts.
“We’ll see Flint River again down there, and it’ll be another war,” LaGrange Academy coach Britt Gaylor said. “We just have to keep getting better at the little things and learn from this and grow up, and we’ll be all right.”
The Warriors pushed the game as far as they did thanks in large part to the effort of Oshinowo, who had a game-high 27 points, with 14 of those points coming in the three overtime periods.
“He’s our heart and soul, not just from scoring wise, but from how hard he plays,” Gaylor said. “I hate that he went out on his senior night as a loser. But he’s got one more game in this gym on homecoming. He’s got the rest of the season.
“Everybody in the locker room is hurting for him and our other two seniors. And it’s going to be something they use to bounce back from.”
Oshinowo hit game-tying shots late in each of the first overtime periods to keep the Warriors alive.
In the first overtime, with the Warriors trailing 54-52, Oshinowo’s jumper with 21 seconds left tied the score.
The Warriors got the ball back after a charge and had a chance to win it, but Oshinowo’s 3-point attempt just missed.
In the second overtime, the Wildcats were leading 61-58 when Oshinowo knocked down a 3-pointer with nine seconds left to tie it.
Flint River couldn’t connect on its end, and it was on to a third four-minute overtime period.
Durand scored first with 3:07 left to give the Wildcats a 63-61 lead, but Oshinowo’s 3-pointer gave the Warriors their final lead with 2:48 remaining.
Durand made two free throws with 1:39 left to put the Wildcats back on top, and Daniel Wardlaw’s free throw free throw with 55 seconds left tied it.
With 38 seconds left, Durand was fouled, and his two free throws gave the Wildcats a 67-65 lead.
After the Warriors missed on their end, Durand made two free throws with two seconds left to put it out of reach, and when the clock hit zero the Wildcats stormed the court to celebrate.
“They played well, they played hard. They just made mistakes that young basketball teams make, taking quick shots when we didn’t need one, forcing the action when we don’t need to, that kind of stuff,” Gaylor said. “They’re going to grow from it.”
The game was close throughout.
The Wildcats trailed 13-12 after the first period, but they led 27-23 at the half.
The Wildcats went up by 12 with 5:30 left in the third period, but Oshinowo and Daniel Wardlaw hit back-to-back 3-pointers to jumpstart the Warriors, who were down by two, 42-40, heading into the final quarter.
In a low-scoring fourth period, neither team led by more than two points, and Durand scored the final basket of regulation with 1:40 left to tie it at 48-48.
Chase Wardlaw complemented Oshinowo’s 27 points with 19 points of his own.
LaGrange Academy will be back in action Thursday at Griffin Christian.
“We can’t let this define our season,” Gaylor said. “We have to wake up (today) and get ready for Griffin on Thursday.”
GIRLS GAME
The LaGrange Academy Lady Warriors were taken out of the game early on Tuesday en route to a 62-36 loss to rival Flint River.
The visiting Lady Wildcats had everything working early, and they were up 21-10 after the first quarter and 41-21 at the half.
The Lady Warriors did outscore the Lady Wildcats 11-7 in the third period, but they were outscored 13-4 in the final period.
“In the second half, we competed,” LaGrange Academy head coach Britt Gaylor said. “Flint River’s a good team, they’re well-coached, and they’re more experienced than we are. And that all makes a difference.”
Brandi Smalls and Tazsa Garrett-Hammett each scored nine points for LaGrange Academy, and Fannasy Garrett-Hammett added eight points.
The Lady Warriors have an inexperienced roster composed solely of eighth-graders, freshmen and sophomores, and Gaylor believes the team is getting better.
“I really think talent-wise we’re capable of playing with anybody, we just have to use these situations to grow and get ready for the (region) tournament,” he said.
LaGrange Academy will look to get back on the winning track on Thursday when it visits Griffin Christian.
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