Spain Park drops heartbreaker at buzzer to Homewood
Published 11:39 am Saturday, January 5, 2019
Spain Park dropped a heartbreaking road game to Homewood at the buzzer on Friday, Jan. 4. (Reporter photo/Keith McCoy)
By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor
HOMEWOOD – After battling back seemingly all night to take a lead in the final seconds of a third matchup with the Homewood Patriots, the Spain Park Jaguars had done everything they needed to in order to pick up a win on the road on Friday, Jan. 5.
The Jags went 10-10 from the free throw line over the final four minutes of the game which counteracted all of Homewood’s made 3-point baskets.
The biggest of those free throws came with 4.5 seconds left and Jaelon Agee at the line.
Before stepping to the line, several players came up to him instilling confidence in him and showing passion to pull off a win that hasn’t been seen in a while.
Agee then calmly sank both to give the Jags a 40-38 lead with 4.5 seconds to play.
Homewood, however, still had time.
On the ensuing inbounds pass, out of a second timeout, the Patriots threw the ball the length of the floor and it was almost stolen by the Jags before being batted around and called out on Spain Park, giving Homewood the ball under its own goal with 3.4 seconds left.
Out of another timeout, being a non-area game, you had to figure the Patriots were prepared to do what they do best and take a 3-pointer for the win.
That’s exactly what happened.
Almost tucked away by his team bench in the far corner, Bo Barber received the inbounds pass with no one around and drained a buzzer-beater for the 41-40 win—a heartbreaking blow for the Jaguars.
It’s a heartbreak, however, that may inspire the team heading into area play.
For the first time this season, you could sense that the entire team was heartbroken after pouring so much into a game that they had seemingly won only to lose.
The Jags did everything they could to win the game against a top-10 team except for a three-second lapse, showing they can compete against the best.
If they find themselves in the situation again, they’ll be able to remember how much that heartbreak hurts and do everything they can to make the outcome different.
Early on, the Jags looked like a motivated squad ready to compete against the No. 7 ranked team in Class 6A who had an overall record of 17-4 coming into the game.
Spain Park used a 9-3 run out of the gates behind strong play from Parker Boswell and an offensive board and put back from Jaelon Agee.
Back-to-back turnovers shortly after by Spain park, however, led to the Patriots pulling back within a point at 9-8 as the Patriots, a 3-point shooting team, hit their first deep ball of the game.
That shifted the momentum in Homewood’s favor as Logan Padgett was able to hit a floater shortly after to give his team a 10-9 advantage at the end of the opening quarter.
Homewood also came out and quickly hit a basket in the second period to extend that lead to three points, but a lid covered the basket for the next few minutes of play.
Neither team could buy a basket or a point until midway through the period when the Patriots hit one of two free throws to take a four-point lead.
At that point, something seemed to click for Spain Park, who was a team feeding off of momentum in the first two quarters.
Boswell was able to hit a twisting layup through contact to put the Jags’ first basket on the board in the period with 2:20 left until the halftime break.
That was followed by a basket from Cam Crawford and Blake Nord as all of a sudden the Jaguars had taken a 15-13 lead after relinquishing the lead.
Homewood, however, was able to answer with a big 3-pointer at the buzzer from the corner to snatch the lead right back at 16-15 heading into the halftime break.
Coming out of the locker room, it was the opposite of the second quarter as the Jags showed a lot of intensity and were able to start the period on an 8-2 run to eventually grab a 23-18 lead.
This time, however, it was the Patriots who answered back.
After not making a field goal for the first 4:55 of the quarter, the Rebels hit three 3-pointers in a row over the next two minutes of the frame to eventually steal the lead back at 27-23.
The Jags were then able to draw up a play in the final minute that saw Boswell slice through the lane for a layup to cut the deficit to two points at 27-25 heading to the final quarter where the crazy finish ensued.
Homewood took a four-point lead early in the quarter, and grabbed a three-point lead after hitting a 3-pointer shortly after to make it 35-32, but the Jaguars then answered with a 6-0 run to grab a 38-35 advantage with just more than a minute remaining.
The Patriots quickly responded with what they do best by hitting another 3-pointer with 25 seconds left to tie the game.
That’s when Agee stepped to the line and sank his two free throws in the clutch with 4.5 seconds left, before Homewood’s crazy 3-point basket at the buzzer won it.
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