Two games into the young season, Mountain Pine has secured its first signature win.
Trailing White Hall 44-40 after three quarters, the Red Devils stormed back for a 53-52 win in the first day of the Lakeside Classic basketball tournament Saturday at Lakeside Athletic Complex.
"This is a really big win for us as far as our confidence," Mountain Pine coach LaMont Page said. "We've only had four or five good practices coming out of football. For us to come out like this against a 5A team, this is probably one of the biggest wins of this program's history."
Two quick baskets by Kevon Turner and Devon Koonce gave White Hall a 48-42 early in the fourth quarter, but the Red Devils wouldn't go down without a fight.
A three-pointer by Josh Walpole and a transition layup from Elijah Browning pulled Mountain Pine within 50-49 with 2:37 remaining in the game.
"I told them if we get down, don't panic, because we're the type of team that can pull out wins; we've done it before," said Page. "They finally started listening to me. Once they started doing that, we were able to turn it around late in the game."
Fay Haywood gave the Red Devils a 51-50 lead with less than two minutes to play, but the Bulldogs wouldn't stay down for long. Jabarri Blackmon put White Hall ahead 52-51 with 55 seconds remaining.
Trailing 52-51 with 13 seconds on the clock, senior Matthew Snow stepped to the free throw line for two shots and a chance to give Mountain Pine the lead.
With the game on the line, Snow converted on both attempts to give the Red Devils a 53-52 advantage.
"Matthew is our best shooter; I knew that he was going to knock both of them down when he went to the line," Page said. "We've only had a few practices, but free throws is something that we emphasize at every practice. When Matthew got fouled, and he stepped up, I sat down because I knew he was going to make both of them."
Maintaining possession with 13 seconds remaining, the Bulldogs had a chance for a game-winning shot, but Turner's three-point attempt missed its mark, and Mountain Pine escaped with the win.
Despite six early points from Haywood, White Hall held a slim 12-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. Koonce had four points in the first period while Ollie Reddick buried a three-pointer for the Bulldogs.
Koonce scored four straight points to open the second before the Red Devils found their groove. Snow connected on a shot from behind the arc and Walpole scored three points at the end of the quarter as Mountain Pine knotted the score at 25-25 at the half.
"I wanted to put my team in these types of situations," said Page. "I felt like I had a team that can go deep in the state tournament, and maybe even win it. With this win, we're a little ahead of the schedule from where I thought we should be."
Haywood and Snow combined for five points to open the third, giving the Red Devils an early 30-25 advantage. The Bulldogs refused to back down as Zavion Jackson and Tylin Walker each scored four points to put White Hall ahead 44-40, setting the stage for a dramatic fourth quarter.
Haywood led all scorers with 19 points while Snow finished with 13 and Kwin Staggers had nine for the Red Devils. Koonce paced White Hall with 13 points.
Mountain Pine (2-0) will face Jessieville in the final game of the tournament at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday at Lakeside Athletic Complex.
"Playing these teams in larger divisions is only going to give us confidence, whether we win or lose," Page said. "As long as we go out, play hard and give 100 percent effort, I'm happy with that. If we win, it's just a plus."
Sports on 11/20/2017