LAURINBURG — Fighting Scots senior Justin McRae ever so gently coaxed the ball into the net as the final seconds of Friday’s game ticked off the clock.
With the game tied 54 against Seventy-First and nine seconds left in the game, the Scots in-bounded the ball and passed it to McRae in the lane. McRae drove through four Seventy-First defenders, jumped up and put the lightest touch on the ball to get it to fall. With less than a second left, the Falcons didn’t even have enough time for a half-court shot. The last-second heroics by McRae gave the Scots the 56-54 win.
McRae finished the game with 15 points as fellow senior Niem Ratliffe led the way for the Scots with 21. Along with the game winner, McRae hit the other crucial shot of the fourth quarter, a three-point jumper to give the Scots a 50-48 lead with 1:33 left to play.
A second three, this time by senior Brenton Thomas, bumped the Scots lead to 53-48 before a free-throw from senior Janoah McRae put the Scots up by four with 43 seconds left.
Seventy-First erased the Scots lead and tied the game at 54 with back-to-back baskets by Brion McLaurin. Both teams exchanged time outs before the final in bound. The Falcons put on the full-court pressure, but McRae drove the lane and from 14-feet out put a light touch on the ball to get it to fall in.
The Scots trailed Seventy-First the entire first half, down by one 10-9 at the end of the first quarter. Seventy-First jumped out to a 2-10 lead before Scots head coach Matt Justin called a time out. A travel by the Falcons resulted in a basket by McRae, a three pointer and a basket by Ratliffe to end the quarter.
A basket by junior Isaiah Bostick gave the Scots their first lead of the game, before Seventy-First jumped out to another six-point lead 26-20 heading to the locker room.
Two trips to the free-throw line by James Kamara and a basket by Harold Shelton put the Falcons up by five. Two baskets by McRae, a basket by senior Trey Dixon and a trip to the line by Ratliffe tied the game at 18. The teams exchanged baskets to knot it up at 20 before the Falcons went on a 6-0 run to end the second quarter.
The Scots tightened the game in the third quarter and tied it up with just over three minutes left to play. A basket by Ratliffe followed up a steal and a three-pointer gave the Scots a two-point lead, 32-30. Seventy-First kept the game close, trimming the Scots lead to two, 36-34 by the end of the quarter.
The two teams continued to go back and forth throughout the fourth quarter, with three ties in the final eight minutes, as they combined for 40 points.
Ratliffe started the quarter with a steal and a basket to give the Scots a four-point lead, 38-34. Two trips to the free-throw line by McLaurin and a three-point jumper gave the Falcons a one-point lead, 39-38. Back-to-back turnovers kept both teams on their toes.
A steal by senior Janoah McRae led to a trip to the line for Ratliffe and gave the Scots a 40-39 lead. A second steal by Janoah led to a basket by Ratliffe and a three-point lead for the Scots. The teams exchanged the lead with every basket and trip to the line until the final nine seconds.
With the win, the Scots improve to 7-2 overall and 3-1 in Sandhills Athletic Conference play while Seventy-First moves to 5-4 overall and 1-3 in SAC-8 play.
The Scots hosted non-conference opponent Marlboro County on Monday in their final game before Christmas. The team will be in action over the holiday break, participating in the West Bladen Woodsmen Tournament which begins on Dec. 27.
Amber Hatten-Staley can be reached at 910-506-3170 or [email protected].
