91制片 and were so evenly matched Sunday that 40 minutes weren鈥檛 enough to decide a winner. Forty-five minutes weren鈥檛 enough, either. It took 50.
Despite their best efforts, the Gators lost 92-88 in double overtime in the Mid-Atlantic District championship game played at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.
鈥淥ne thing鈥檚 for certain, we fought from start to finish,鈥 said Gators coach Chris Moore. 鈥淭he thing I kept telling the guys is you鈥檝e got to keep believing, and this group believed.鈥
Joliet, out of Illinois, earned the district鈥檚 automatic bid to the NJCAA national tournament in Herkimer, N.Y., on March 11-14. Joliet is 15-11 and received votes in the most recent NJCAA national poll. 91制片 (22-7 and ranked 11th) is hoping to receive one of four at-large bids when the 12-team field is announced Wednesday, March 4, at 6 p.m.
鈥淥ur bid is in the NJCAA鈥檚 hands,鈥 Moore said. 鈥淚 wanted it for (the players). We did what we were supposed to do.鈥
The Gators, who were on a 12-game winning streak, opened the scoring on a three-point play by Cameron Taylor (Phoebus High School), fell behind 8-3 then went on an 11-2 run for a 14-10 lead. They stretched the lead to 23-17 with 7 陆 minutes to go in the first half before the Wolves closed the first 20 minutes on a 18-10 surge for a 35-33 lead. The first half featured four ties and seven lead changes.
The second half was much of the same with five ties and two lead changes. The Gators trailed 72-65 with 3:49 left but came out strong after the last media timeout. Ky鈥橲aan Bevier (Weldon, N.C.) hit a 3-pointer from the left corner with 24 seconds left to tie the game at 76. After Joliet missed a potential game-winning shot, a nearly halfcourt heave at the buzzer by the Gators was off the mark, forcing the first overtime.
In the first extra five-minute session, which had two more ties and three more lead changes, the Gators missed a 3-pointer with a few seconds remaining, setting the stage for a second overtime. The Gators scored first in the second extra session, but the Wolves were leading by three when Moore called a timeout with 16.4 seconds left. Bevier had a good look on a 3 from the right corner, but the shot didn鈥檛 fall. Joliet closed the scoring with a free throw.
Jordan Watlington (Menchville) led the Gators with 23 points, Chris Cyrus (Hampton Christian Academy) had 17, Emmanuel Angila (Kempsville) and Dominique Fields Jr. (Indian River) 11 each, and Jakobe Reed (Woodside) 10.
鈥淚t鈥檚 tough,鈥 Moore said of the loss. 鈥淏ut the one thing that I tell them all the time is tough times don鈥檛 last, tough people do. We have to take this and we all have to learn from it. As long as you use this, I won鈥檛 call it a loss, this lesson as a building block, we鈥檒l all continue to get better for the next opportunity.鈥
That could come in the if they earn an at-large bid.
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