Soddy Daisy’s Brandon McNeil scored 30 points Tuesday night at Temple Academy’s Vance Avenue Gymnasium, but none were any more important than the last one.

He sank the second of two free throws with one-tenth of a second remaining to lift the Trojans to a thrilling 78-77 victory over the host Crusaders in a game where neither team deserved to lose.

It was a battle from the opening whistle, but the Trojans had the upper hand for most of the game.

A 17-15 lead after one quarter was extended to 41-36 at the half while the Soddy Daisy difference after three quarters was 58-51.

McNeil hit two free throws with 6:23 to play, giving Soddy Daisy its biggest lead at 64-53, but the game was a long way from over.

Jacqueze Robinson canned a long 3-pointer from the win at the 3:57 mark to knot the score at 68.

It was a 94-foot war the rest of the way as the lead changed hands five times in the final four minutes.

Dexter Peterson sank two charity tosses with 2:00 remaining to give Temple a 73-72 advantage and he added two more 45 seconds later for a three-point spread.

Aaron Floyd scored on a layup with 1:07 remaining to make it a one-point game before Quan Scott made it 77-74 with two free throws at the 45-second mark.

McNeil nailed a long 3 from the top of the key to knot the score with 30 seconds left, giving the Crusaders the final possession and plenty of time to get a good shot.

Temple took a timeout at that point to set up the final play.

Robinson, who had hit five 3-pointers earlier in the game, got a wide-open look from his hot spot, but the ball clanged off the back of the rim as the clock continued to tick.

Scott alertly grabbed the rebound and he too got an open look from the baseline, but again, the ball wouldn’t fall.

Somehow in the last-second scramble, McNeil gained possession and was fouled from behind as he headed down court.

With the score still tied at 77-all and that one-tenth of a second remaining, McNeil just had to make one shot to clinch the win.

Temple coach Mark Alexander called his final two timeouts in an attempt to ice McNeil, but it didn’t work.

The Trojan southpaw missed the first attempt, but the second was good and the game was over as soon as the ball hit the floor.

“The wrong team just won this ball game,” said Soddy Daisy coach Kevin Templeton, who spent 18 years coaching on the high school and college level for the Crusaders.

“Those kids just played their hearts out and they deserved to win the game. We just got lucky. We didn’t guard anybody and we didn’t rebound very well. We were scatterbrained most of the game.

“Our two post players both fouled out, but we got some good minutes from guys on our bench and they helped us get the win. We just happened to score one more point than they did.

“Boy, do we have a lot to work on,” Templeton concluded.

Temple’s Alexander certainly didn’t have a quick answer for his team.

“I wish I could have shared some great wisdom with them afterward, but I couldn’t. I hurt for these kids as they played their hearts out. They played so hard and they battled back.

“Unfortunately, we missed a lot of free throws and you can’t expect to win a close game like that. The last thing I told them in the timeout before our last possession was to not foul. I guess we panicked there at the end.

“I took our last two timeouts trying to ice him at the end. He missed the first, but I really didn’t expect him to miss the second. He was the difference.

“Just a couple of weeks ago, we were awful and I was thinking it might be a long season, but we’ve really come together since that time.

"Tonight, we got two good looks at the end, but neither one of them fell. If the ball goes in, we leave happy and we’re the ones jumping around in celebration.

“That’s just the way things go sometimes,” Alexander said, noting his team is now 1-2.

While McNeil scored 30 points to lead both teams, Austin Hamilton and C.T. Williams added 15 and 10 points, respectively, for the Trojans.

Steven Worthington and Floyd both finished with nine points.

Scott had a terrific game for the Crusaders and finished as their leading scorer with 26 points. Robinson wasn’t far behind with 24.

Drew Sansing was also in double figures with a dozen points while Peterson was next with 11.

Soddy Daisy girls 63, Temple 21: The Lady Trojans used a 25-2 advantage in the second quarter to blow this game open and it never got any closer.

Kelsey Nunley scored 18 points to lead Soddy Daisy while Cassi Byrne was next with 13. Sara Conner was also in double figures with 11.

Kellie Kellogg was the only Temple player in double figures as she finished with 11 points. Cassie Combs was next with seven.

GIRLS SUMMARY
Soddy Daisy 14 25 16 8 -- 63
Temple 10 2 4 5 -- 21

SODDY DAISY (63) – Bolton 2, Harris 3, Orr, Holden 2, Lewis, Cassi Byrne 13, Kelsey Nunley 18, Hackney, Johnson 4, Shaefer, Wilson 2, C. Conner 8, S. Conner 11.

TEMPLE (21) – Combs 7, Shiraef, Britt 2, Rector, Kellie Kellogg 11, Carroll, Sells 1, Shram.

3-POINT GOALS: Soddy Daisy 1 (Harris); Temple 1 (Combs).

BOYS SUMMARY
Soddy Daisy 17 24 17 20 -- 78
Temple 15 21 15 26 -- 77

SODDY DAISY (78) – Rogers, C.T. Williams 10, Grimsley, Worthington 9, Willis, Brandon McNeil 30, Austin Hamilton 15, Floyd 9, Smith 4.

TEMPLE (77) – Dexter Peterson 11, Jacqueze Robinson 24, Armour 2, Ragsdale 2, Drew Sansing 12, Quan Scott 26, Kennard, Barrows, O’hara.

3-POINT GOALS: Soddy Daisy 6 (Williams 2, McNeil 4); Temple 11 (Peterson, Robinson 5, Sansing 4, Scott).

(Email John Hunt at tnmoose2002@aol.com)