Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The LaGrange boys basketball team produced a remarkable comeback in the final game of the  LaGrange Thanksgiving Showcase, beating McIntosh 50-48 on a buzzer-beating dunk from Torian Reeves.

“I wasn’t trying to look at the time, but I felt like I had just enough time,” Reeves said with a laugh. “When we got the turnover at the end and I had a straight trip to the basket my eyes lit up.”

The heroics were all set up by a moment of magic from BJ Wortham as the senior connected on a deep 3-pointer to tie the game up at 48 with 13 seconds on the clock.

“I knew it was going in,” Wortham said, with a big grin. “Any time I shoot, that is all I think about, is the ball going in.”

The fourth quarter belonged to Reeves who pulled the Grangers back from the abyss. He scored 15 of his game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter. The senior connected on three 3-pointers in the fourth, including one that drew the Grangers within one score (48-45).

“This feels amazing, but to be honest we should have beat this team by more,” Reeves said. “But winning like this feels so good.”

Wortham also had a strong third quarter, hitting three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and finishing with 15 points.

The third quarter would nearly prove decisive as the Chiefs went on a 15-0 run to start the period and eventually outscored the Grangers by 16 points over those eight minutes to take a commanding 36-23 lead to the fourth.

“We had to do whatever it took to win,” Wortham said. “That was the message from coach, do what it takes. 

LaGrange would keep fighting in the fourth, down to the final buzzer. 

“I wouldn’t say we were giving up, but we were kind of soft and lost the flow of the game at halftime, and they came out, made a huge run, but we responded,” Reeves said.  

The Grangers closed the gap to four points with 3:20 to go as Torian Reeves hit a 3-pointer and then got a steal and a quick two as part of a personal 8-0 run. Unfortunately, a technical foul would be issued on LaGrange following the basket and the Chiefs recaptured the momentum from there after knocking down both free throws. 

LaGrange still had a chance to cut the deficit down to one score, but a Brennan Connell missed 3-pointer with just under two minutes to go kept the McIntosh lead at two scores. The Grangers eventually did cut the McIntosh lead to one score (48-45) with 36 seconds left in the game when Reeves connected on another 3-pointer. 

LaGrange got off to a good start in the game, leading 11-4 after the opening quarter as it took some time for both offenses to find any sort of rhythm. The second quarter was also controlled by both defenses as LaGrange took a narrow 17-14 lead into halftime. 

Reeve and Wortham carried the bulk of the offensive load, combining to score 37 of the team’s 50 points.

It has been a strong start to the season for LaGrange as the team improved to 4-1 and has won two in a row after its first loss of the season on Saturday. The Grangers will get a short Thanksgiving break before returning to the court next Tuesday when they host South Atlanta. 

“We are missing two of our main guys, so we are still just gonna figure out how we can ffill those spots,” Reeves said. “We are still adjusting, but everything is going pretty well right now but hopefully we will get even better.”