SPENCER, Tenn. -- Despite being on the road and down by five with just over a minute to play, the Arts & Sciences boys' basketball team somehow found a way to win Saturday night in the Region 3-A tournament.
The Patriots, seeded third from District 5, had to travel to face Van Buren County, the No. 2 6-A team, but returned home with a 74-73 victory that puts them in the semifinals Tuesday against Boyd-Buchanan, which won its quarterfinal against Sale Creek on Saturday by a 76-53 margin.
CSAS trailed by two at the end of the first quarter of its tough battle with Van Buren, but pulled ahead to a one-point halftime lead.
By the end of the third, the Eagles were back out front, 54-50, and appeared in control with a five-point lead with 1:05 left to play. The Patriots, however, weren't ready to give up, and Chaison Gordon nailed two 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds to put his team up by one.
After a jump ball on a rebound gave Van Buren County the ball back underneath its basket with 2.2 seconds on the clock, CSAS freshman Shun Moorer stole the ball to secure the 74-73 victory.
The Eagles' Tyler Turner poured in 36 points in the loss, while Gordon led the Patriots with 19. The victory for CSAS completed a District 5-A quarterfinal sweep, as all four teams defeated their District 6-A opponents and will return to action on Tuesday when the tournament moves to Sale Creek.
(E-mail Jaime Barrett at
jaimenbarrett@gmail.com)
Region 3-A Quarterfinal
At Van Buren County
ARTS & SCIENCES 74, VAN BUREN COUNTY 73
CSAS 17 16 17 24 -- 74
Van Buren 19 13 22 19 -- 73
CSAS (74) -- Shun Moorer 15, O'Hara, Woods 3, Brown 2, Carter 3, Patrick Taylor 11, Chaison Gordon 19, Davenport, Brandon Houston 14, Moore 7.
Van Buren County (73) -- Lefever, Michael Shockley 17, Gain Delon 13, Welling 4, Hale, Roberts 3, Tyler Turner 36.