For 28 minutes and 39 seconds, the Thompson Warriors were in the lead with hopes of making it to their first Final Four in 30 years. However, a late surge by the Austin Black Bears (18-13) left the Warriors (26-6) in shock after a triple overtime loss, 82-79, Saturday afternoon.

&8220;Obviously it was a pretty good game. You&8217;ve got to give all the credit to Austin. They knocked own shots like they needed to,&8221; Thompson coach Jeff Nichols said. &8220;It&8217;s been a good year and along the way we won 26 games, but came up three short.&8221;

The Warriors jumped out to a 24-7 lead, as the second quarter got under way. The lead lasted until Austin responded with a 16-6 run to start the fourth quarter and tie the game 53-53.

The Black Bears&8217; lead grew to six points, 59-53, before the Warriors battled back to force overtime with six-straight points from Laderreous Kelley, who finished with 25 points. Gary Cunningham followed with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Siddeeq Cooper had 11 points