ELIZABETHTOWN — Antonio Arnold sank a 15-foot jumper at the buzzer that lifted St. Pauls to a 37-35 win against East Bladen on Friday in a Southeastern Athletic Conference junior varsity boys basketball game.
Arnold’s game-winner came after the Bulldogs had run more than two minutes off the clock following a free throw by East Bladen’s Malikah Moore that tied it at 35-all with 2:15 remaining.
Shannon Hankins scored 13 points, including a trio of 3-point field goals, to lead East Bladen. Moore added 10 points. The Eagles are 3-3 in SAC-7 play and 9-5 overall and are scheduled to host Midway on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
Jamir Marzett netted 16 points to lead St. Pauls.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 10-3 lead, but a lay-up by Moore and the first of Hankins’ 3-pointers pulled East Bladen within 10-8 by the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, St. Pauls reeled off 11 consecutive points for a 23-14 lead, but, again, the Eagles rallied with five points in the final minute, capped by Kewone Maynor’s follow of a missed free throw that left St. Pauls with a 23-19 halftime lead.
Baskets by Keshawn Kemp and Chace Butler to close the third quarter kept East Bladen within striking distance with St. Pauls leading 32-27.
East Bladen tied it at 34-all on Moore’s basket off a pass from Maynor with 3:19 left. The teams traded a free throw over the next minute to set the stage for Arnold’s buzzer-beater.
St. Pauls 10 13 9 5 — 37
East Bladen 8 1 8 8 — 35
ST. PAULS (37) — Jamir Marzett 16, Jarki Purcell 4, Jaden Bethea, Yoshua McBryde 8, Antonio Arnold 7, Aarron Graham, Jaeyvon Bronson, Devin Suggs 2.
EAST BLADEN (35) — Chace Butler 4, Braylon Cromartie, Malikah Moore 10, Shannon Hankins 13, Khalil McKoy, Kewone Maynor, Kyran McKoy 2, Sherman Long, Tevin McLean, Keshawn Kemp 6.
About Author
