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"I don't know that I've ever been part of a game where so many people made big plays in such a short time," Tigers head coach Craig Shoemaker said this morning. His team, upset victims in the last three Mid-Piedmont tournaments, finally broke through with a 72-71 double-overtime win over Trinity in Thursday's title game at Asheboro, a contest that featured a five-point rally by Ragsdale in the final minute of regulation, missed free throws galore, a half-court 3-pointer by Trinity's Matt Watkins to force a second overtime and a layup as time expired by Ragsdale's Jay Canty to decide it.
One point of clarification on that Watkins 3-pointer. Trinity was called for a technical foul after its bench rushed the floor following the shot, giving Ragsdale two free throws. But since time had already expired, those were to be applied to the next overtime. The Tigers' Wally Jones missed both attempts, but even if he had made one, the game wouldn't have been over; Ragsdale would have just started the second overtime up one.
Irregardless, huge win for the Tigers (25-1), who wrapped up a perfect conference season.
"Our kids have just absolutely responded in times when we've had to," Shoemaker said. "One of our coaches said, ‘Our kids just know how to win.'"