Bucs fall in double overtime despite valiant effort
It took double overtime, but McGill-Toolen had just enough in the tank to top Hoover, 77-74, in the Class 7A Boys State Semifinal at the BJCC’s Legacy Arena on Thursday.
Rene Scott scored the final nine points for McGill-Toolen in the second overtime period, and gave the Yellow Jackets their final lead with a layup with 1:09 to play.
He hit two free throws to put a bow on the game and propel McGill-Toolen to the State Final. Scott finished the game with 21 points and six assists.
The game would not have reached that point without the heroics of Hoover’s Jamari Blackmon, who scored a game-high 29 points in a standout performance. The sophomore guard drove and scored at the buzzer in the first overtime period to tie the game, and had a big bucket late in regulation to give the Bucs a brief lead.
“Coach just told me to create space for myself and I did, and I was able to knock down the shot,” Blackmon said of his shot to force double overtime.
The Bucs held an early edge in the second overtime, extending the lead to four before Scott took over. An offensive play went awry late, and forced them to foul Scott. Hoover had one last shot to tie it, but it came up just short.
“I’m so thankful and grateful for our kids to have this experience,” Hoover head coach Charles Burkett said. “They’ve worked so hard to get to this point…It was a wonderful ride.”
TJ Howard paced the Yellow Jackets with 23 points and 13 rebounds in the game. He fouled out early in the second overtime, but as was the case all game long, McGill-Toolen had other players to step up.
“The biggest thing was our guys just hanging together,” McGill-Toolen head coach Phillip Murphy said. “We had some guys that don’t play many minutes play big minutes.”
In the first period of free basketball, the two teams went back and forth. Each of Hoover’s three field goals in the period drew them to a tie. Blackmon nailed a three to knot things at 63. Postell tied the game at 65 with a basket, and Blackmon’s buzzer-beater made the score 67-all.
Blackmon suffered with cramping issues late in the game, but played a team-high 35 minutes, as Burkett continued to put the ball in his hands late.
“That’s how much confidence I have in Jamari’s game. He played insurmountable minutes. We couldn’t get him a rest because I thought he gave our team its best chance by creating space. I put so much pressure on him and I’m so proud of him, especially the way he came through,” Burkett said.
Postell was a force to be reckoned with down low all game long with key putback after key putback. He finished with a double-double of 15 points and ten rebounds, seven of them on the offensive end.
“I just work on it,” said Postell. “Coach tells me to be strong, and I play as strong as I can. I try to grab every single rebound I can and get every single bucket I can.”
Jaylen Gaither sparked Hoover’s offense in the first quarter, as he hit a deep three-pointer and was fouled on his next attempt from deep, as the Bucs took a 13-11 lead after a quarter.
One of Postell’s many putback baskets pulled Hoover within two at the half.
Marion Humphrey stepped up in the third, as he hit a three and converted a reverse layup to give the Bucs their first lead since early in the second quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Jamari Blackmon’s bucket gave the Bucs a 57-55 edge with just under a minute to go. Matthew Rickman knocked down a pair of free throws to make the lead four.
TJ Howard hit a pair of free throws with 20 seconds remaining to tie the game. Hoover’s attempts missed at the horn, sending the game to overtime.
Paris Chambers scored 12 points for McGill, as three players scored in double figures.
Humphrey finished with eight points for the Bucs. Kevy Eason scored six, and Cam Jones and Gaither each scored five.
Hoover’s season ends with a 16-19 mark, as the Bucs played a schedule packed with juggernauts with a team that lose nine seniors from its 2015 state champion squad.
Burkett said, “It was not as much of a Cinderella as people think. There were so many tough teams and we had to grow with minimal experience.”
But the Bucs finally hit their stride come playoff time, and that is all a coach can ask for.
“You would like to start playing good basketball towards the end of the season, but we started in the playoffs,” Burkett added. “It took us all the way to the end of the regular season to get it, but we got it. That was the key, and now these guys are going to bring a lot of experience back next year.”