Devin Coleman’s improbable buzzer-beater capped a furious late-game rally, helping Caroline snatch a Battlefield District road win from host Courtland 59-57 on Friday night.
The Cavaliers (16-2, 8-1) trailed the Cougars (11-9, 5-5) 53-47 with 2:42 remaining in the fourth quarter. But senior guard David Ware’s floater from the left elbow and step-back three-pointer from the right wing on consecutive possessions pulled the visitors within one at 53-52 with 1:50 left. They would eventually tie the game at 55 on Coleman’s three-point play, setting the stage for a wild final minute.
First, Courtland senior guard Mike Hilliard’s pull-up jumper in the lane with 41 seconds remaining gave the Cougars the lead again at 57-55. The Cavs quickly responded with a Coleman runner to knot the score at 57-all with 32 seconds left.
On the ensuing Courtland possession, the Cougars attempted to run the final 30 seconds off the clock while they worked the ball around the perimeter for a good final shot. With five seconds remaining, a forced lob pass under the basket to senior Nick Woods hit the rim, caroming back towards midcourt. Multiple Caroline and Courtland players converged on the ball, but it was Coleman who corralled it near the three-point line before flipping an off-balance attempt off the backboard that rattled around the rim and dropped in as time expired.
Coleman finished the game with 11 points, seven of which came in the game’s final minute-plus.
Ware’s 27 points led all scorers. He poured in 19 of those in the first half as the Cavaliers staked a 36-34 halftime advantage.
From the start of the second half, Courtland dictated the tempo and style of play, crafting what looked like an insurmountable lead with their deliberate half-court offense and superior size down low. Woods (6’5”) and junior Camryn McDonald (6’3”) were often able to assert themselves under the basket and on the backboards against a smaller Caroline team.
At the other end of the floor, Cougars’ senior Kyle Moore’s physical brand of defense made Ware work hard to get open. Prior to his pair of baskets in the final 2:42, Ware’s lone second-half bucket came on a three-pointer midway through the third quarter.
Woods led Courtland with 15 points, while McDonald added 13.
Caroline hosts Eastern View on Monday, while Courtland travels to King George Tuesday.
