REIDSVILLE -- The Long County Blue Tide basketball team have won the region championship for the second time in three years, and they did so in dramatic fashion. On Friday, Feb. 18 they completed a comeback against the Tattnall County Warriors to secure the 71-70 victory.
It was a three-point play by Cam Johnson with five seconds left on the clock that secured the victory for the Tide. However, it certainly was not an easy road to come back in the game.
The Tide took an early 2-0 lead thanks to Trinity Gray’s open jumper, but the Warriors quickly shut down the Tide for seemingly the majority of the game. They hit two big three-point shots and went on a 9-1 run to go up 9-3 midway through the first quarter.
The last four minutes of the first was more closely contested the first, but the Warriors still led 22-11 going into the second.
It looked like the Tide were going to swing the momentum their way as Dwayne Rowe took the ball and threw down one of the best dunks of the entire season, slamming over not one, but three Warrior players to get the crowd on their feet.
After going 4-8 from three in the first quarter, the Warriors hit their first shot of the second but proceeded to miss their next nine attempts.
This allowed the Tide to go on a 6-0 run to cut the Warriors’ lead under 10 points and eventually the Tide made the score 27-21 after a 10-0 run.
The Warriors led 31-25 at the half, but considering the Tide were down by as much as 16 in the second quarter, this felt like a win for the visiting team.
Tattnall County quickly took the momentum back in their favor as they hit a big three and were gifted a four-point play after a phantom foul on the shot.
Johnson connected on his first of two three-point plays to make the score 41-37, but the Warriors opened a 7-0 run to go up 11 with three minutes left.
Sophomore Keshawn Smith hit a tough three-point play to make the score 57-50 Tattnall County going into the final quarter.
Long County opened the fourth with an 8-2 run to cut the Warriors lead to just one point with five minutes left. They eventually turned that run into a 13-4 one that gave them the lead after a Johnson layup.
Up 63-61 with just a minute left in the game, it looked like the Tide were in position to run out the clock. The Warriors, however, had other plans.
They made some big plays to force turnovers and their press caused a turnover at their end of the court. A Warrior layup gave them the 69-68 lead with 29 seconds left.
The Warriors were able to force a foul and hit one of two free throws to go up 70-68 with 15 seconds left.
The Tide came back up the court and Johnson was able to connect on a tough layup and draw the foul to go to the line with the game tied and five seconds left.
Johnson converted his second three-point play to give the Tide a 71-70 lead. The Warriors’ last second heave fell short as the Tide clinched their second region title in three years.
Johnson led the Tide with a double-double with 27 points and 11 rebounds. Gray also had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. CJ Glenn was 3-6 from three-point range, going 3-4 in the second half.
The Tide have now won nine of their last 10 games and will host the first round of the state playoffs on Wednesday, Feb 23. They will host the Beach Bulldogs.