WBA NEWS

Decatur Claims WBA Title in 131-128 (2OT) Thriller

Sunday, June 29, 2008 12:00 AM

WBA

Having to face each other for the third time, both teams came prepared to take home the championship trophy. The atmosphere was intense and the Buford Majic wasted no time imposing their fury onto the Decatur Court Kings.

Buford's defense was so aggressive that Decatur struggled to score and to control the ball, committing 8 turnovers in the first quarter, giving Buford an 11pt lead going into the second. Decatur entered the bonus early in the second quarter due to Buford's aggressive defense but struggled to make their free throws, only shooting 57% for the game.

Buford held a 54-46 lead over Decatur at the half. Al Stewart would lead for the Court Kings with 16pts, 5reb and Pig Miller would add 12pts, 13reb. But, it was Buford's B.J. Puckett who made the difference for the Majic with his 19pts, 5reb.

The Court Kings came out more focused in the third quarter and began to take over. Powerhouse duo Pig Miller and Al Stewart brought Decatur back, giving them a 1pt lead going into the fourth but the Majic refused to give up easy.

With six minutes left Buford tied the game and the teams stayed neck and neck the rest of the way. Then with 42.7 seconds left and the game tied the Court Kings head coach, Reggie Fox, called a time out to draw up a play. Decatur missed the 3-pt attempt but Pig Miller recovered the offensive rebound and scored, putting Decatur up by 2 with 20 seconds left in regulation. Buford came down and missed a 3-pt attempt also but Mike Griffin recovered the long rebound and dished it to B.J. Puckett for a lay up who tied the game 103 103 in the final seconds, forcing the overtime.

One minute into overtime, Pig Miller fouled out for Decatur which left the Court Kings to go the rest of the way without their leading scorer. Shortly thereafter, Buford lost their leading scorer B.J. Puckett to fouls leaving both teams without their key player. Buford dominated the overtime and forced Decatur to turn the ball over, giving Buford a 4pt lead with 30 seconds left in overtime. Then, Court Kings #17 Isaac Cook (6'4''-F-78) hit a 3 pointer with 5.8 seconds left putting them down by one. Decatur fouled Mike Griffin who hit two more freethrows to build a 3pt lead. With 4.6 seconds left and no time outs, #51 Brian Thompson inbounded the ball throwing it across half court to Dele Ojo who knocked down a last second three to tie the game 118 118, forcing a second overtime. Double overtime would come down to the last 30 seconds also. Buford put the ball in Jacob Fraziers hands down by one with 21 seconds on the clock. After his missed shot, Buford captured two offensive rebounds with a chance to take the lead but Decaturs #34 Chad Eichelberger saved the Court Kings with a spectacular block recovered by #3 Ken Kenneth McKenzie (6'0''-G-82) who was fouled. Kenneth McKenzie converted both free throws to seal the win 131-128 for Decatur.

After losing their first game, Decatur would go undefeated the rest of their season to capture the 2008 WBA Championship title as a first year franchise.

1st- Buford 31, Decatur 20
2nd- Buford 54, Decatur 46
3rd- Buford 78, Decatur 79
4th- Buford 103, Decatur 103
OT: Buford 118, Decatur 118
2OT: Buford 128, Decatur 131

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