Tucker’ Khayri Dunn (11) drives against Martin Luther King’s Devin Bowers (4) during first half high school basketball action at Tucker. Dunn would later score the winning basket with 3.5 seconds to play in a 57-56 Tucker win. (Photo by Mark Brock)
High school basketball fans watching the Tucker and Martin Luther King Jr. boys’ and girls’ basketball teams on Friday night at Tucker High School witnessed two down to the last shot thrillers as the two schools split victories in Region 4-5A basketball action.
The No. 2 ranked Tucker Tigers (15-4, 5-1) took the final of three lead changes in the final 24 seconds of the game on a driving layup by Khayri Dunn with 3.5 seconds to play to pick up a nerve wracking 57-56 win over the improved Martin Luther King Jr. Lions (14-5, 3-2) to earn a split in the nightcap at Tucker.
King took a 44-37 lead into the fourth quarter behind an 8-0 run to end the third as Devin Bowers scored four points in the final 37 seconds on turnover and then added a layup with three seconds remaining.
Tucker continued to edge back into the game behind the play of Josiah Lawson (7 points) and Dunn (4 points) to trim the advantage to 54-52 with 1:46 to play.
Lawson added a free throw and then gave Tucker a 55-54 lead on a steal on an inbounds play under the Tucker basket and hit a layup with 24 seconds remaining.
The Lions went back up the court and missed a shot, but Kennedy Ruzvidzo rebounded and put the ball in the basket giving King a 56-55 lead with nine seconds left on the clock.
Tucker got the ball up the court after timeout and Dunn got the ball just to the right of the lane, saw an opening and drove for the layup to give the Tigers the 57-56 lead with just 3.5 seconds to play.
The Lions got the ball to halfcourt and took a long shot that bounced harmlessly off the rim as the Tucker fans celebrated the thrilling end to the game.
Josiah Lawson hit for a game-high 28 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds to lead the Tigers. Lawson, a senior, was honored before the game for joining the 1,000-point club (1,305) and became just the 61st DeKalb player to reach 1,000 points and 500 rebounds (over 600) in a career. Khayri Dunn had 15 points including the game-winner.
King was led by Ruzvidzo with 14 points, Noah Brown with 12 points and Devin Bowers with 11 points.
Martin Luther King’s Janaya Williams (with ball) heads for a layup following a steal as Tucker’s Ka’Nya Hairston (5) defends. The Lions upended the Tigers 48-47 for the Region 4-5A win. (Photo by Mark Brock)
(G) M.L. King 48, Tucker 47
A blocked shot with under 10 seconds to play proved to be the deciding play at the Martin Luther King Jr. Lady Lions (5-14, 2-3) held on for a 48-47 Region 4-5A victory over the Tucker Lady Tigers (4-11, 1-4) in the opening game at Tucker on Friday.
Tucker trailed King 43-33 with 5:51 to play after a 7-0 run by the Lady Lions ended on a layup by Cequoyah Harris before the Lady Tigers began a furious comeback attempt.
Jaymee Carter fueled the rally scoring 13 points in the final 5:51 of the game including six consecutive to close the gap to 43-39 at the 4:53 mark.
Tucker down two players due to fouling out of the game looked to Carter as the game ticked under the one-minute mark. Carter answered with back-to-back drives to cut the lead to 48-47 with just 20 seconds remaining.
Mya Sales got a loose ball after a Carter missed free throw and got the ball to Carter again, but a Lions’ defender blocked the shot and Tucker was forced to foul with 5.1 seconds to play.
The Tigers got the ball back after two missed free throws and tried to hurry up the court only to lose control of the ball as the buzzer sounded to seal the win over the Lions.
Aubriana Kirland finished the night with 18 points to lead King in scoring followed by Janaya Williams with 13 points and eight rebounds and Alika Daugherty with 12 points. Cequoyah Harris finished with 12 rebounds to go with five points.
Carter finished with a game-high 21 points for Tucker and Ka’Nya Hairston added 13 points.