Two consecutive nail-biters and two wins at the buzzer Saturday night helped the Bradwell Tigers’ boys and girls squads avenge losses against the Brunswick teams, who defeated them Jan. 10.
Tiger Derrick Nesbitt hit a trey shot with 2.7 seconds left in regulation to propel the Tigers to a 52-49 win. Lady Tiger Brytnii Speight retrieved a loose ball and sank a shot at the buzzer to win the game by one point, 45-44.
"What can I say, it was divine intervention," Lady Tiger coach Faye Baker said. Baker said the Brunswick squad kept pressing and penetrating throughout the game, forcing her to make adjustments.
"We were down by one and their player, No. 10, lost the ball at half court," she said. "Brytnii (Speight) scooped the ball and scored."
Baker said there was only 2.8 seconds left when the minor miracle occurred.
"It was God’s will," Tiger coach Pete Woodard said echoing Baker’s sentiment about their victory. "We had a dead ball situation and there was 2.7 seconds on the clock. We’ve got a play we designed especially for Derrick (Nesbitt). And that was the time to use him, so I put him back in the game. Derrick had the presence of mind to get the shot off before the clock ended and once he released it I guess God just guided it through the net."
Woodard said he can see the maturity of his players but reminded them that close games are the ones that make a difference at the end of the season, especially if they end in a Tiger loss.
"It really felt good to win a close game for a change," he said. "In a lot of close games, somehow we always came up on the short end of the stick. But on Saturday night it seems it was God’s will to give both of our squads a break and we got the win."
Whether by divine intervention or good ball skills the Tigers will have to prove themselves as they hit a five game region run that started last night when they traveled to Savannah High.
The Lady Tigers are 15-3 overall and 7-1 in region 3-AAAAA. The Tigers are 7-10, 4-4. According to GaSports.com the Tiger squad slipped to fifth place in the region with Savannah ranked No. 2. The Lady Tigers still have the second place spot behind Beach High.