After the Bulldogs tied the game at 61 with 15 seconds left, Clarkdale High School’s Landon Gibson went to the free throw line with three seconds remaining to clinch the win.

Gibson’s – who scored 13 points — first attempt bounced off the back of rim before falling to the floor. As he released his second attempt, the ball took a similar path to the basket, but as it bounced off the back of the rim, Clarkdale’s Ken Scott snatched it from the air and placed it in the basket for the go-ahead score.

Scott’s put-back basket completed a come-from-behind effort which sealed a 63-61 home Clarkdale victory Friday night.

“First of all, I want to give the glory to God for allowing me to have the ability to play this game – I want to thank my family for being behind me,” Scott, who scored 12 points, said. “Going into the last shot, I was hoping that Landon would make it because he’s like 100 percent in practice. But something told me (Heidelberg) was going to box me out. When I saw the shot go up, my body just reacted, and I crashed the glass like I know how to do. It just went down.”

After trailing by 15 points entering the fourth quarter, Clarkdale’s offense sprung to life, and Keaton Jones tied the score at 61 with a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in the game. Jones poured in a 13-point, fourth-quarter effort to finish the evening with a team-high 25 points.

“Honestly, what I was thinking was when Ray Allen hit that shot against the Spurs –  while I was shooting it, I was thinking about that shot right there,” Jones said of his game-tying trey. “I had ice in my veins, and I knew I just had to do it.”

Clarkdale head coach Robert Holladay said despite playing from behind for a good portion of the evening, he knew his players would respond with a valiant effort.

“I thought we played a very good first half — we went (into) the half down by eight points, and had ourselves in a good position in the second half,” Holladay said. “We talked to the guys and told them when we come out at the half, the first four or five minutes into the third quarter really sets the pace. I think our guys really did an excellent job tonight. I was confident in our guys.”

The win moves Clarkdale to 6-9 overall, and 1-1 in district play.

“It’s a big win for us,” Holladay said. “Heidelberg is a team that will be in the top in district and to be able to get a win early against a good, well-coached team, we’re excited.”

Heidelberg’s Johnathan Strickland’s field goal 6:43 into the opening quarter gave the Oilers a 2-0 lead, but Garrett Gibson responded with a 3-pointer 14 seconds later to put Clarkdale ahead 3-2. Scott drew a foul in the process of making an under-the-rim basket and drained his free-throw attempt with 3:22 left in the first quarter to give the Bulldogs a 13-5 lead, their largest of the opening quarter. Heidelberg closed the first quarter on a 9-0 run to lead 15-13 at the end.

DeJuan Parker scored eight points in the first two minutes of the second quarter to extend Heidelberg’s lead to 25-14. Jones chipped in with a basket with 5:42 in the second quarter and Scott followed with a tip-in a minute later to put the score at 27-18 in Heidelberg’s favor with 4:43 left before halftime. Jones gave the Bulldogs a 3-pointer with 12 seconds remaining in the second, making the score 32-24 Heidelberg at intermission. 

The Oilers jetted out to an 8-2 run in the third, leading 40-26 with 4:53 remaining in the quarter. Jones quashed the Oilers’ momentum with a 3-pointer to put the score at 40-29. Clarkdale also received baskets from Scott, Landon Gibson, Stephen Bickford and Garrett Gibson to trail 50-35 at the end of three quarters.

Clarkdale’s defense clamped down in the fourth quarter, while its offense poured in points, and with 2:01 left in the game, Landon Gibson drained a 3-pointer to make the score 57-54 in Heidelberg’s favor. The shot sent the home crowd into a frenzy, forcing the Oilers to call a timeout to curb Clarkdale’s momentum. Jones made two free throws with 1:15 left, and two more with 41 seconds remaining in the game to trim the Oilers’ lead to 59-58. Jones tied the game with his 3-pointer with 15 seconds left, and Scott scored the go-ahead basket with three seconds remaining on the clock.

“It feels great to knock off Heidelberg because they’re a big rival, and probably the No. 1 team in our district,” Scott said. “The feeling is just outstanding. In practice, my teammates and I talk about being great, and that’s what we did out here.”

HEIDELBERG GIRLS 58,

CLARKDALE 26

The Lady Oilers defeated the Lady Bulldogs 58-26 early Friday evening at Clarkdale High School. With starters Tanasia Stennis and LaTonya Adams out due to injury, Bulldogs’ head coach Jeff Davis knew his team would have its hands full in dealing with Heidelberg Dandy Dozen selection Keyara Jones.

Jones scored 17 points in the first two quarters and sat out the final two in foul trouble.

“Both of our post players are injured right now,” Davis said. “(Stennis) is out for the season and (Adams) is out for a game or two. That got us out of sync with what we really try to do a lot of times. It hurt us on rebounding, and it got us a little out of sync offensively. I was real proud of my girls. I thought they played really hard. They have a Dandy Dozen on their team — she’s a really good player. All things considered, I was pleased with our effort, and reasonably pleased with what we did.  

Tori Emerson led the Lady Bulldogs (9-6) in scoring with nine points.