Roger Whitehead
LIBERTY — Sixth-seeded Southeastern Randolph Middle School hit a last-second basket to pull off a 41-39 upset victory over third-seeded Northeastern Randolph last week in the first round of the Randolph County Middle School Basketball Tournament.
As a result of the win, SERMS moves on to face Randleman in a semifinal game.
The game, originally set for Monday, has been postponed due to the weekend snowstorm.
NERMS appeared to be in control early, taking a 5-0 lead, then used four points by Jamari Asher to close out the first period with a 12-2 lead. The margin grew to 16-2 at 4:57 of the second quarter before the Titans made a late charge.
From 16-2, the Titans went on a 11-0 run to pull within 16-13 at 41.8 seconds, completed by a pair of Dijuan Williams free throws. At the half, the Huskies were protecting a 18-13 lead.
In the third quarter a Shawn Maness steal and layup gave NERMS a 25-13 margin, but the SERMS defense stiffened to contain the Huskies to a single free throw the rest of the period. Corey Yahn posted five points for a 25-18 score then Williams nailed a pair of late jumpers to get the Titans within 26-22 at the end of the period.
A driving layup by Detri Wilson at 4:30 put NERMS on top 30-22. A Trevon Spinks layup made it 34-31, then SERMS tied the game at 36-all on a 3-pointer by Robert McGee with 1:28 left.
The Titans gained their first lead at 38-36 on a goal by Yahn at 1:22 before the teams traded free throws. Bryson Beck canned two free throws at 14.3 seconds to tie the score at 39-39.
Hauling down a rebound and taking a timeout, SERMS set up the gamewinner in which Yahn drove the baseline and scored with just 4.8 seconds left in the game.
Yahn paced the victory with 14 points and Williams added 13. Topping NERMS was Maness with 14 points, Wilson with 11 and Asher with nine.
