The missed foul shot rolled off the rim where Dorman’s Kavon Dover somehow came out of the mayhem down low with the ball, dribbled away before reversing course and driving hard to the hoop for a tough layup.
The hustle play upped what could have been a one-possession game to a five-point lead with 17 seconds left and essentially clinched a 43-39 victory against a very strong Richland Northeast squad in the boys Class 4A basketball playoffs.
Dover had five points, but that huge play illustrated the type of night it was for Dorman (24-3, 12-0) with many players making key plays to help the team advance to the upper state semifinals Tuesday.
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They will either host Lancaster or travel to Wren.
“I thought this game really epitomized our season more than any game we played all year,” Dorman coach Thomas Ryan said. “We win with defense and different guys stepping up and both things happened tonight. We were worried about rebounding coming in and we did great, actually unofficially outrebounded them.
“I just thought a lot of different guys stepped up whether it was a made foul shot, a loose ball scramble, just a lot of guys made plays when we had to have them.”
With neither team able to secure much of a cushion, Curtis Webb and Brandon Pinckney made consecutive 3-pointers to cap an 8-1 run for a game-high 11-point lead with 1:20 left in the third quarter. Richland Northeast responded with a 7-0 spurt of its own while Dorman point guard Maurice Daniels went to the bench with his fourth foul early in the fourth.
The sides traded buckets with Richland’s Devante Anderson hitting a 3-pointer for a 39-37 deficit and 43 seconds to go. That set the stage for Dover’s game-clinching play.
“I can’t even explain how I feel right now, this is crazy,” said Webb, who scored a game-high 15 points. “We just tried to be smart, get what we wanted by controlling the tempo. It’s the playoffs, you do everything better. There’s more emotion, more pressure and it’s a lot of fun. I’m proud of us. We practice hard and we play hard and now it’s all about getting ready for the next one.”
Dorman aggressively attacked the basket all evening and rarely launched an ill-advised perimeter shot. The smaller Cavaliers were able to control the boards against a long and physical opponent. The defense limited Richland Northeast to 12 first-half points, including four in the second quarter as Dorman held a 17-12 advantage at the break.
Dorman’s J.J. Arcega-Whiteside scored nine points while Anderson led Richland Northeast with eight.
“We’re really deep this year and have a lot of confidence in a lot of different guys,” Ryan said. “I thought our ball-handlers were very patient and didn’t force things and our physical man-to-man defense were both important in such a low-scoring game. Our guys really bought into focusing and playing every possession for 32 minutes.”
Daniels acknowledged it wasn’t hard buying into such a concept.
“It’s the playoffs, win or go home, so every possession counts so much. You can’t even take one off because one bad possession could be the difference between moving on or going home.”
D: Daniels 3 Pinckney 5 Curtis Webb 15 Dover 5 Robinson 4 Arcega-Whiteside 9 Draper 2. RNE: Sims-King 3 Haggins 7 Cooke 7 Cruse 2 Hammons 7 Anderson 8 Anderson 5
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