Lewisville rally falls short in state-title game loss

The free throw is the most basic shot in basketball, but in the final moments of a championship game, when legs are tired and nerves are frayed, it can sometimes be the hardest.

On Friday in the Colonial Center in Columbia, the Lewisville Lions found that out the hard way. The Lions missed 11 freebies in the fourth period and fell just short of a dramatic comeback win, falling 72-71 to the Hemingway Tigers in the Class 1A state championship.

Lewisville trailed by 12 with about three minutes to play, and still by nine at the 1:07 mark, but simply refused to quit. There were 10 lead changes and five ties in the first three quarters of play, and Lewisville led at the end of both the first and second periods.

Trailing 69-60 with 1:07 to go, Lewisville rallied. Keels scored and stole the inbounds pass and fed Demetric Hardin for another driving bucket with 39.6 left. The Tigers hit two free throws but Keels had an old-fashioned three-point play on the other end to make it 71-67 with 23.1 remaining.

After a foul on the Lions, there was a technical whistled against the Tigers with 20 ticks left. Hemingway hit one free throw, but Mikial Fourney hit both technicals for Lewisville and the Lions got possession of the ball.

Then it really got interesting. Keels was fouled and hit one of two to cut it to 72-70. He chased down the rebound in a mad scramble, nearly scored the tying basket inside more than once, and was fouled with 4.5 seconds remaining. With a chance to tie the game, however, he missed the first and made the second.

With the score 72-71, Hemingway was fouled on the inbounds. Darius Taylor missed both free throws and the rebound went out of bounds to Lewisville with only 1.2 seconds on the clock. The Lions were unable to get a good inbounds pass and the ball was knocked loose as the clock ran out.

Mike Hill had six in the first period and Lewisville led 18-17 headed to the second. The Lions led 28-26 at the half. Darius Williams had seven in the first half to lead the Tigers.

TURNING POINT

The Lions cut a 53-45 edge to 53-50 with 5:53 to play, when Hemingway ran off seven straight points. Darius Williams started it with a dunk and a free throw. Pressley hit two free throws, followed by two misses from Keels, and Williams scored again to make it 60-50 with 4:26 left.

CRITICAL

Lewisville was 9-for-20 from the free throw line in the fourth period. Three times in the game the Lions missed the front end of one-and-ones. Hemingway was 13-for-17 from the charity stripe in the final eight minutes and 19-for-27 for the game.

STAR CONTRIBUTORS

Trey Keels led the Lions with 17 points, including nine in the fourth, and fought relentlessly on the boards all night. Mike Hill had 15 and Demetric Hardin 12 with eight coming in the fourth. Jadakiss Talford threw in 14, including two three-pointers late in the third that cut the Lions' deficit to two.

Hemingway's Desmond Pressley led all scorers with 21, including eight in both the third and fourth quarters.

COMMENTS

Coach Michael McCray on free throws:

"That's the thing that separated us tonight. They made free throws down the stretch and we didn't."

On the comeback:

"That was a great effort from our kids. They have no reason to hang their heads."

"It just wasn't in the cards for us to win tonight. My kids gave everything they had and then some."

On the quality of play:

"It was a heavyweight fight just like I expected."

On seniors Mike Hill and Trey Keels:

"I've had those guys since they were sophomores. It was a really hard time in the locker room, knowing that they will no longer be with us. I just told them I appreciate their effort, knowing they gave 110 percent."

On Lions’ future:

"In the locker room, Maurice Grant said, 'Coach, when are we getting in the gym?' So they are already preparing. No it does not stop here. These guys are hungry."

On losing to his alma mater and friend and former assistant Patrick Lewis:

"He did an excellent job and I didn't expect anything less from him. We're best friends and hats off to him and the Tigers for winning the championship."

Hemingway 72 Lewisville 71

This story was originally published March 3, 2017 at 9:56 PM with the headline "Lewisville rally falls short in state-title game loss."