FWB boys win in OT thriller, 67-63 ( VIDEO, SLIDESHOW)
FORT WALTON BEACH – Fort Walton Beach's Rece Coward has been waiting patiently to be the guy that takes the last shot.
Tuesday night in the first round of the GoSouthern.com Classic at Fort Walton Beach High School, Coward got that shot – and he didn’t disappoint.
The senior guard scored 28 points and hit the game-tying 3-pointer with 12 seconds to go in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime where the host Vikings came away with the 67-63 win over Graves County (Ky.)
“Good things happen when the ball is in his hands because he’s so poised and confident in his decision making,” Fort Walton Beach coach John Lavin said of Coward.
The Vikings (5-6) trailed the Eagles 42-36 after three quarters of play. Coward hit two 3-pointers from over 25-feet away to close the first and third quarters of play – which was merely a sign of things to come.
Graves County (8-4) looked to have sealed the game as Jacob Hackle (15 points) made a layup to give the Eagles a 53-46 lead with just over 1:10 to go. But the Vikings’ Allen Wallace (17 points) answered with a quick 3-pointer to cut the lead to 53-49 with 1:05 remaining.
“That’s what seniors do,” Lavin said. “They relish those moments. Devin (Gould) made some clutch free throws in the end we looked confident. We were down and things weren’t going our way and we could’ve folded the tent, but the kids showed some resiliency and it was encouraging – they fought.”
Keke Richardson added a free throw to bring the score to 53-50 with 32 seconds left and the Vikings pressure defense worked to perfection as they stole the ball and burned their final timeout to set up Coward for his game-tying, step-back 3-pointer from right in front of his team’s bench.
“I was thinking about going baseline,” Coward said, “but I couldn’t bend it, so I was thinking step back and I had confidence in my shot I was hitting them all night, and that one went down too.”
Clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch and six points each from Coward and Wallace sealed the game in overtime. The Eagles had a chance to tie the game as Jake Williams was fouled shooting a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds to go in the extra period. But Williams’ second shot rimmed-out and he missed the third on purpose. Coward grabbed the rebound iced the game for the Vikings with two free throws.
Peyton Puckett led Graves County with 17 points on the night and Gould finished with 11 for Fort Walton Beach.
But Coward stole the show, creating shot after shot at the most crucial moments. According to Coward it came down to one thing.
“Confidence really, that’s all it is,” he said. “Rising up when there is pressure on you – that’s all.
“Following in A.J.’s (Shepherd) steps, he always wanted the ball. Now it’s my time and I want the ball too.”
Follow Pat Flynn on Twitter: @PatFnwfdn
