PEMBROKE — A Ladarius McNeill buzzer beater powered the Scotland boys basketball team past Purnell Swett, 76-74, in a double-overtime thriller on Friday night.
After a timeout, Scotland had the ball with 6.2 seconds left and the score tied at 74-74 in the second overtime. Mandrell Johnson brought the ball up near midcourt before passing it to McNeill around the top of the 3-point arc. McNeill was left open, and he launched a last-second shot that went in at the buzzer.
“(Mandrell) had forgotten there was six seconds left, so he started dribbling a little bit slower up the floor,” Scotland coach Matt Justin said. “And he had Ladarrius trailing behind him.”
McNeill had tossed in the inbounds pass on the other end of the floor. Scotland intended to drive the ball up the floor quickly, push it into the paint and kick the ball out to a shooter. The result wasn’t what Scotland had planned, but the alternative worked.
And it helped wrap things up for Scotland’s exhausted lineup. Starters Trey Graham, Kris McLean and Bruce Wall all fouled out in the second half, so the Scots ended up using the same players – Garrett McRae, C.J. Settles, Grayson Smith, Mandrell Johnson and McNeill – for the remainder of the contest. That group was worn out from trying to stop Purnell Swett forward Xavier Jones, who finished with 35 points, and the rest of the Rams’ offense.
“We were (tired),” McNeill said. “We just had to keep playing.”
McRae posted 32 points for the Scots. Johnson added 16 points. Settles scored 13 points.
Scotland had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation with the score tied at 57. The Scots had the ball with 10 seconds left after a turnover by the Rams, but a desperation shot by Johnson was unsuccessful.
The Rams also had a chance to win at the end of the first overtime. Purnell Swett called timeout and drew up a play with 15.7 seconds left and the score tied at 68. The Rams missed their chance, and the game headed to another overtime period.
Scotland (2-4, 1-0 SAC) held a 44-35 lead at the end of the third quarter. But the Rams (1-5, 0-2 SAC) eventually tied the score on a basket by Jones, and neither team was able to make a run for the rest of the fourth quarter.
Lady Rams grab victory
The Purnell Swett girls basketball team defeated Scotland 48-31 after using a 12-0 run to pull away at the start of the fourth quarter.
Natalie Evington and Kylie Chavis both had nine points for Purnell Swett. For Scotland, Kadence Sheppard scored a team-high 12 points. Asjah Swindell added nine points.
The Lady Rams got a jolt of momentum when Evington beat the third-quarter buzzer to give the hosts a 31-21 lead heading into the final period. That momentum helped the Lady Rams pull of their key 12-0 run.
Purnell Swett (4-3, 2-0 SAC) bounced back from a loss to Marlboro County. Scotland (2-3, 0-1 SAC) will now prepare for its holiday tournament next week at South View.
