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GREENSBORO — Roy Williams probably picked a good time to leave.

The UNC coach sat courtside to watch Dudley's P.J. Hairston, one of his crown jewel recruits, at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Complex on Monday, pausing at every timeout to appease a few more autograph-seekers.

Williams had just packed up and left in the final minutes when the afternoon was rocked by a play that never needed to happen.

Oak Hill Academy, the Virginia basketball powerhouse stacked with thoroughbreds, led the Panthers by 20 points when the Warriors' Devon Anderson intercepted a lazy inbounds pass and went up for a layup with less than a second to play.

Hairston, who led all scorers with 24 points, went up to block.

You can argue that Hairston didn't need to be in the game at that point — Dudley head coach David Price said he only considered pulling him in retrospect — or that Hairston didn't need to contest a meaningless layup, which Anderson probably should never have attempted, either.

But all those things did happen, a convergence of fate that left Hairston huddled under the basket, slamming the ground with his hands and moaning in pain after he fell awkwardly and injured his left foot.

He laid on the ground for five minutes before walking off on his own power, but he was on crutches afterward and the full extent of the injury won't be known until he's re-examined this morning.

"We'll know more then," Price said.

Oh by the way, Oak Hill won 87-65 after surviving a scrappy Dudley effort for three quarters. The Warriors, led by UConn signee Roscoe Smith's 21 points among five players in double figures, jumped to a 37-24 lead but watched Dudley go on a 9-2 run, capped by Brennan Wyatt's 3-pointer plus the foul, to pull within six before halftime.

Wyatt opened the second half with two more 3-pointers and almost hit a third that would have made it a four-point game, but Oak Hill kept stretching its lead and the Panthers missed their last chance to get within single digits when they missed the front of a one-and-one midway through the fourth. Wyatt finished with 12 points and Reggie Dillard had 13.

Hairston looked impressive at times but struggled mightily from behind the arc, where he spent most of the afternoon. He finished nine points short of his season average, a disappointment that seemed trivial after an ending that no doubt produced a few choice words in a car heading back to Chapel Hill.

Contact Tom Keller at 373-7034 or tom.keller@news-record.com

Dudley 22 13 12 18 — 65
Oak Hill, Va. 26 18 21 22 — 87

Dudley — P.J. Hairston 24, Brennan Wyatt 15, Reggie Dillard 13, Jaquel Richmond 9, D.J. Alston 2, Sam Hunt 2.

Oak Hill — Roscoe Smith 21, Doron Lamb 16, Pe'shon Howard 12, Baye Keita 10, Martins Abele 10, Juwan Staten 8, Keith Hornsby 4, Marco Porcher 3, Devon Anderson 2.