HUNTSVILLE | Scott High was oh-so-close to claiming a share of a regular season district championship for the first time in 25 years.
On a night when Kayleb Woodward recorded a double-double, with 19 points and 10 rebounds, the Highlanders took district-leading Halls to the wire at Highlander Gymnasium on Monday (Jan. 30), before eventually falling 61-59 in overtime.
The Highlanders trailed by as much as nine points early in the game, then battled back to lead most of the way. Scott led by as much as seven points, 47-40, with just over five minutes to play before seeing Halls battle back to force overtime.
In the extra session, the Highlanders appeared to be out of luck, but battled back to give themselves several chances to win the game late.
Scott’s first chance to win came at the end of regulation. The Highlanders had possession and opted to hold for the last shot, which was a missed 3-pointer as time expired.
After Halls grabbed the lead in overtime, the Highlanders began fouling and sending the Red Devils to the line in order to extend the game. Scott saw Halls miss two free throws with under 20 seconds remaining, but lost the rebound out of bounds. Moments later, the Highlanders had the ball down two, but turned it over on a traveling violation. Finally, Scott snagged a rebound of a missed free throw in a three-point game, but were fouled at midcourt with under three seconds remaining. Skye Babb hit the first free throw and missed the second intentionally, but Halls snagged the rebound as time expired.
In addition to Woodward’s big night, Grey Todd finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. Scott Jeffers had 12 points, and was 10 of 12 at the free throw line. Brady Strunk had seven rebounds to go along with five points.
Scott High finished 72% of the line, making 23 of 32 attempts. Halls was only 48% at the line, making 11 of 23 attempts.
With the loss, Scott finishes 3-3 in district play and will have the number two seed going into the postseason. It appears the Highlanders will face Anderson County in the District 4-3A semifinals at Clinton High School. The Mavs tied with Clinton for third place in the district, but will have the tiebreaker due to their win over Halls, the district’s highest-seeded team. Clinton does not have a win over Halls.
The Highlanders have defeated the Mavericks and their former coach, Jordan Jeffers, twice this season, but needed to come back from 16 points down to win at home earlier this month. A win in the third meeting would allow the Highlanders to host a region tournament game at Highlander Gymnasium.
SCOTT (59): Woodward 19, Todd 13, Jeffers 12, Babb 6, Strunk 5, Garrett 4.
HALLS (61): C. Shaffer 15, Elliot 13, Bishop 10, Stanton 8, Thomas 7, Holmes 5, Lane 2, E. Shaffer 1.
