Williamson’s last-second shot propels Airport past Brookland-Cayce

Airport guard Josh Williamson was in a situation he wasn’t expecting.

The Eagles trailed Brookland-Cayce in the waning seconds of a key Region 5-3A contest Tuesday night when Williamson had an open look from about 20 feet.

His long 3-pointer hit nothing but net with 7 seconds remaining for a thrilling 46-44 victory in front of a near-capacity crowd at the Bearcats gym. The win keeps Airport unbeaten in region play.

“I just saw that the clock was coming down and I knew we had to get a shot up,” Williamson said. “I threw one up and it went in. I saw the crowd get hype and crazy. It was a happy feeling.”

It wasn’t exactly the play that was called in the huddle. Brookland-Cayce (9-9, 2-2) had taken a 44-41 lead on a three-pointer by Kozie Brown with 1:16 remaining to set the stage for the final sequence. Alphonso Tucker made it a one-point game when he scored with 30 seconds remaining.

The Bearcats then had a turnover in the backcourt. The ball was passed around the perimeter until it reach Williamson on the right wing in front of the Eagles bench. He fired away without hesitation.

“We were trying to get a drive and bucket while attacking the basket,” Airport coach Jimmy Kinard said. “But looking back with not many opportunities to get to the line, we got the best thing that we could.”

Brookland-Cayce coach Robert Wells was also expecting a drive to the basket.

“I kind of told the guys to play the perimeter and force a drive and try to get a charge,” he said. “The bottom line is that kid hit a big shot. A rivalry game, big games, a big shot usually wins it. We hit one down the stretch and they came back and hit the biggest shot of the game. I tip my cap.”

Airport had committed only two second-half fouls at that point and they twice fouled BC once they got it inbounds to get the clock under 5 seconds. Finally, the Bearcats turned it over on an inbounds play. That was the final of eight fourth-quarter turnovers.

It’s only appropriate it came down to the final shot. There were 11 lead changes and nine ties. The biggest lead by either team was a five-point cushion for the Eagles in the first quarter.

Airport (14-5, 4-0) started out well and had a 13-8 lead after one quarter. But they started relying on 3-pointers in the second quarter, and they weren’t falling. The Eagles only made 3-of-16 shots in that frame and allowed the Bearcats to hold a 22-21 halftime lead.

“If we would have kept shooting 22-footers, it would have been a hard job winning over here,” Kinard said. “I knew we would make some, but we had to attack the basket to get out of here with a win.”

The victory sets up a showdown with Midland Valley for the region lead on Thursday night at Airport. They are both unbeaten in region play. This game was postponed on Friday because of the expected inclement weather.

But Kinard wanted to enjoy this victory before he began preparing for the defending state champions.

“This is what rivalries are made of – games like this,” he said. “I told our guys before we got here and reminded them again at the half when we were down one – ‘ask me if, I’m surprised. No, none of us should have been surprised. We knew it was going to be a dogfight. To find a way to have one more than the other guy and get out with a region win, I’m extremely pleased.”

Girls

Airport 47, Brookland-Cayce 37

Shakori Jennings-Shuler scored 14 points and Jaylon Rhodes added 13 as the Eagles withstood a late rally.

Airport had a 12-point lead in the third quarter but watched the Bearcats pull within two a couple of times. But the Eagles always found a way to keep the lead before pulling away late.

Aabreah Keitt scored 16 points to lead Brookland-Cayce.