By PATRICK CASEY
The Walton Braves got a lay-up from senior Nitro Gee as time expired to pick up a 55-54 win over Panama City Arnold on Dec. 1 as the Braves snatched victory from defeat to earn a win over the visiting Marlins.
Walton had led the contest for most of the night only to have poor free throw shooting allow the Bay County team to close the deficit in the fourth quarter before taking a 54-53 lead with 7.6 seconds left in the game on a pair of free throws by senior Damani Flanagain. Arnold coach Bobby Britton elected to take his final timeout after Flanagain made the free throws allowing Walton coach Joe Hayes to set his strategy for the Braves final possession. Senor guard Cody Phillips took the inbounds pass and wove his way through Arnold defenders, finding Gee in the lane for the game-winning shot that banked in with a second left for the host squad’s first victory of the 2015-16 season.
Walton led 26-18 at intermission and 44-37 after three quarters as Andricus Moore (17 points) and Juanyeh Thomas (10 points) led the offense on the night. Walton hit 19-of-50 shots from the field but an 0-for-6 performance in the fourth quarter from the charity stripe allowed Arnold to chip away at the deficit behind Flanigain’s free throw shooting and three point shots from Tommy Nguyen and Josh Langford.
Arnold finished the game 17-of-46 from the floor and 14-of-21 at the charity stripe while Walton canned only 11-of-25 from the free throw line.
Cade Supple added eight points for Walton while Gee scored eight, including the game winner to even Walton’s record at 1-1.
Free throw shooting struck again to bedevil the Braves as Walton made only 14-of-40 in a 70-58 home loss to Choctaw on Friday night but the Braves rebounded on Saturday evening with a 65-63 win at Panama City Mosley.
Against Mosley, Moore added another key three point shot with the Braves trailing by five points, and the defense keyed a 10-point rally against the Dolphins that saw the Walton County squad get the game into overtime.
With Walton trailing 63-62, Gee made a free throw to tie the game and Mosley rushed a shot on their final possession that allowed the Braves to grab the rebound, burn a timeout and set up their final possession of the game, similar to the Arnold contest.
This time sophomore Juanyeh Thomas wound up with the basketball and made a basket from the baseline as time expired for a 65-63 victory.
Walton(2-2) will travel to South Walton on Thursday night before returning home to host district foe North Bay Haven on Friday.
Team Notes: Nitro Gee had a buzzer-beater to defeat Laurel Hill in last year’s Cats Against Cancer event in Paxton. Walton holds a 14-7 record against Arnold in the series history and is 8-2 at home against the Marlins. Walton is 2-3 against Mosley since the 1988-89 season and broke a three-game losing streak to the Dolphins on Saturday night. Walton is 3-4 against Choctaw since the 1988-89 season.
The Walton Braves got a lay-up from senior Nitro Gee as time expired to pick up a 55-54 win over Panama City Arnold on Dec. 1 as the Braves snatched victory from defeat to earn a win over the visiting Marlins.
Walton had led the contest for most of the night only to have poor free throw shooting allow the Bay County team to close the deficit in the fourth quarter before taking a 54-53 lead with 7.6 seconds left in the game on a pair of free throws by senior Damani Flanagain. Arnold coach Bobby Britton elected to take his final timeout after Flanagain made the free throws allowing Walton coach Joe Hayes to set his strategy for the Braves final possession. Senor guard Cody Phillips took the inbounds pass and wove his way through Arnold defenders, finding Gee in the lane for the game-winning shot that banked in with a second left for the host squad’s first victory of the 2015-16 season.
Walton led 26-18 at intermission and 44-37 after three quarters as Andricus Moore (17 points) and Juanyeh Thomas (10 points) led the offense on the night. Walton hit 19-of-50 shots from the field but an 0-for-6 performance in the fourth quarter from the charity stripe allowed Arnold to chip away at the deficit behind Flanigain’s free throw shooting and three point shots from Tommy Nguyen and Josh Langford.
Arnold finished the game 17-of-46 from the floor and 14-of-21 at the charity stripe while Walton canned only 11-of-25 from the free throw line.
Cade Supple added eight points for Walton while Gee scored eight, including the game winner to even Walton’s record at 1-1.
Free throw shooting struck again to bedevil the Braves as Walton made only 14-of-40 in a 70-58 home loss to Choctaw on Friday night but the Braves rebounded on Saturday evening with a 65-63 win at Panama City Mosley.
Against Mosley, Moore added another key three point shot with the Braves trailing by five points, and the defense keyed a 10-point rally against the Dolphins that saw the Walton County squad get the game into overtime.
With Walton trailing 63-62, Gee made a free throw to tie the game and Mosley rushed a shot on their final possession that allowed the Braves to grab the rebound, burn a timeout and set up their final possession of the game, similar to the Arnold contest.
This time sophomore Juanyeh Thomas wound up with the basketball and made a basket from the baseline as time expired for a 65-63 victory.
Walton(2-2) will travel to South Walton on Thursday night before returning home to host district foe North Bay Haven on Friday.
Team Notes: Nitro Gee had a buzzer-beater to defeat Laurel Hill in last year’s Cats Against Cancer event in Paxton. Walton holds a 14-7 record against Arnold in the series history and is 8-2 at home against the Marlins. Walton is 2-3 against Mosley since the 1988-89 season and broke a three-game losing streak to the Dolphins on Saturday night. Walton is 3-4 against Choctaw since the 1988-89 season.