Eagles overcome eleven-point deficit to edge past Hanceville in overtime game of the Class 3A, Area 12 semis

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HOLLY POND - What a game it was! Overtime decided it all and who would advance to face the Holly Pond Broncos in the Class 3A, Area 12 championship to be played Monday, February 13, 2012 at 7 p.m. Vinemont was able to edge out the Bulldogs of Hanceville 61-60 in what was the fourth game of the season that Hanceville had lost in overtime.

Hanceville had held as much as an eleven points when Brontae Harris sank a 3-pointer to begin the second half of play. However, the Eagles were eventually able - under the play of Trevor Yarbrough and Chase Allen - to close the gap and tie the game with 16 seconds left on the clock. Diamond Simmons gave the Bulldogs a 10-point cushion to start off the fourth quarter and hold a 47-37 advantage.

Vinemont had only scored the 37 points up to that point in three full quarters of play, but shot lights out the final frame and knocked in 23 points to Hanceville's 13 to send the contest into an extra frame. The Eagles scored 13-unanswered points after the shot by Simmons to lay claim to their first lead of the night on a shot by Yarbrough after Allen had pulled to within one point with a trey.

Chris Smith was later fouled and stepped up to the charity stripe for two free-throws with 2:07 left in regulation and tied the contest shooting 1-of-2 gift shots. Hanceville then reclaimed the lead with a shot from Simmons and even pushed it out to four points after a long rebound was knocked down the court by Lance Twitty to Broc Malcom who dropped in the easy lay-up.

The Eagles then turned the ball over with 1:23 left on the clock and all Hanceville would have to do is hold the possession and play keep away from Vinemont and the game was theirs. However, this was not to be the Bulldogs night as they quickly turned the ball back over and Yarbrough made a pivotal shot after being fouled by Smith. Yarbrough's free-throw bounced off the rim and the Bulldogs once again only needed to play keep away.

Twitty got an open look at the front of the rim and sank what looked to be the nail in the coffin against the Eagles. However, Vinemont found some way to dig themselves from oblivion and dropped in four points. Blake Jones dropped in a shot for the Eagles and on the ensuing inbounds for Hanceville, Malcom would hit the backboard and gave over possession to Vinemont. Allen would then tie the game sending it into overtime.

Smith dropped in a shot for the Bulldogs for the first lead of overtime with 2:44 left in the game on an assist from Twitty. Jones answered for Vinemont and the game was once more tied. Harris would later be fouled on a 3-point attempt and sent to the line for three free-throws. As he sank 2-of-3 charity shots, the Bulldogs clung to a 2-point advantage. However, Jones once again tied the game with a shot off the right side.

Hanceville once again played keep away to set up for the last shot of the game and the possible win over their cross-county rival and area-foe. The Bulldogs worked the clock down to nine seconds and called timeout to set up the last shot attempt. However, Hanceville turned the ball over to Allen as they attempted to inbound the ball and Allen drove the goal for the shot and was fouled on the play. Allen sank one free-throw for the final margin, as a desperation trey fell short for Harris at the buzzer.

Vinemont was led by Allen with the game-high 21 points and was followed by Yarbrough with 19 points, Also for the Eagles was Jones with 10 points, Duncan Hopper added six points, Ty Jones contributed with three points and Jake Brown chipped in with two points. Hanceville was led by Malcom with 19 points, followed by Harris with 15 points and Simmons with 10 points. Also for the Bulldogs was Twitty and Dylan Mooney each with two points and Smith with 12 points.