Hornets top Moore County in last-second finish
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The Huntland High School Hornets beat the Moore County Raiders 58-56 on the road Tuesday for their 11th win of the season.
The Raiders rallied from a double-digit deficit in the second half to tie the score in the final minute, but the Hornets ultimately emerged with the win over their district rival as Braylen Phillips hit a game-winning layup just before the final buzzer.
After falling behind early, the Hornets ended the opening period on a 12-4 run to flip the scoreboard in their favor. Phillips scored 10 of Huntland’s 14 points in the first quarter.
They led 14-11 after one quarter.
The Hornets created more separation on the scoreboard when they ended the second quarter on a 12-5 run to pull ahead by double digits.
They led 30-19 at halftime.
The Hornets pulled ahead by as many as 18 points early in the third quarter before a run of 12 straight points by the Raiders tightened the score again.
Huntland led 48-39 going into the final period.
The Raider slowly chipped away at the lead throughout the fourth quarter and, after pulling within two points of the Hornets multiple times, they tied the score at 56-56 with about 40 seconds remaining.
After holding the ball and running some time off the clock, the Hornets called a timeout with 6.4 seconds left to set up their final play.
Following timeouts by both teams, Phillips inbounded the ball to Eli Wiggs who passed it back to Phillips along the baseline. Phillips then drove in and sank a go-ahead layup with about two seconds left.
The clock stopped with 1.1 seconds remaining while Moore County rushed to inbound the ball as the scoreboard operator appeared to anticipate a Moore County timeout, but the Raiders didn’t have one to call. After a brief discussion between the officials, they ruled that the clock had expired, and the game was over with the Hornets winning by two.
Phillips led the Hornets with 29 points for the game, followed by Wiggs with 10 points and Lashawn Kimmons and Trace Kilpatrick with nine points each.
Jarren Kinslow scored one point.
With the win, the Hornets improved to 11-8 on the season and 2-0 in district play.
They will next play Saturday at home against Cannon County High School. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

