STAUNTON - Robert E. Lee had all but locked up its game with Brookville on Tuesday night.
With just over four minutes left in the final quarter, the Leemen were leading the visiting Bees 36-24, but a 22-7 run to end the game gave Brookville a 48-43 overtime victory in the Region III, Division 3 quarterfinals.
“This team has a lot of resiliency,” Brookville coach Chris Young said. “I reminded the guys that in the last tournament (the Seminole District final against Liberty) we were down 11 in the fourth quarter to come back and win. These guys showed a lot of character and heart tonight.”
Lee had all the momentum, breaking up the Bees’ 2-3 zone and finding open looks from outside.
Brookville’s two big men, Logan Thomas and Corby Weiss, kept Lee from getting the ball into the paint for most of the night.
Even a 7-0 Lee run, stemming from a rare technical foul on Lee coach Paul Hatcher, was not enough to hold off the Bee charge in the second half.
Down 12 late in the fourth quarter, Thomas made it inside for an easy layup.
“The fourth quarter is our quarter,” Thomas said. “We were down 11 in the last game and came back to win. We were down in the beginning of this one and came back to win this.”
After calling a timeout to switch into man-to-man defense, Brookville sandwiched a 3 pointer by Jared King around fast break layups coming from Weiss and Alec Thompson.
Down 36-33, Weiss hit two crucial free throws considering Brookville was a dismal 15-29 at the charity stripe for the night.
Dae’ Quan Scott could only knock down one of two free throws after Weiss sent him to the line, picking up his fifth foul in the process.
Thomas stripped the ball from J.R. Gray with under a minute to play, running down the court throwing home a powerful dunk to tie up the game.
“We just need one little spark, one big play to get us on a roll and we are moving from then on,” Thomas stated.
Scott had a shot at redemption, but the buzzer beater rimmed out.
Thomas started off the overtime where he left off, knocking down a mid-range jumper to take an early lead.
Scoring six points in the overtime session, Lee never regained the lead.
“They have ghosts in this gym evidently and, for some reason, we were able to get through it,” Young added.
Scott led the Leemen with 13 points. Gray added 10.
Hatcher was not available for comment after the game
Thomas led all scorers for the Bees with 25 points. Weiss contributed 11.
Brookville hosts Lord Botetourt in the Region III, Division 3 semifinals on Friday at 8 p.m. after Liberty faces Northside in the first game at 6.
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