Baylark, Bulldogs shoot down Indians

CRESTVIEW – Ronnie Baylark hit a 3-pointer from the corner with one second left in the game to give Crestview a 62-61 win over Choctawhatchee in a District 2-6A boys basketball thriller Friday night.

With less than 20 seconds left in the game, the Indians held a 61-59 lead, but the Bulldogs had the ball.

Crestview coach Keith White called a time out with 10 seconds left to set a play that would either end the game or send it to overtime.

“We had a play designed there at the end,” White said. “We were going to try and come off the screen and hit Antryun (Coleman) with a bounce pass in the lane and go for the tie.

“If they doubled teamed us and let Ronnie alone we were going let Ronnie try to win the game at the end. He struggled all night, but at the end, he the shot that counted.”

Baylark, who finished the night with 17 points, didn’t shy away from the opportunity to hit the winner.

“I was just ready for the pass,” he said. Coach told me to stay in the corner and be ready in case Justin (Cline) kicked me the ball (a quick pass to an open player) and Justin kicked it in and made a great pass.

“It feels great because we did it as a team. We played our hardest and we got the win. Choctaw is probably the hardest team in our district and we beat Choctaw so we know we can beat anybody.”

In the opening moments of the game it looked as if the night might belong to the Indians.

Choctaw (17-7, 6-2) got a 3-pointer from Jonathon Brassell to open things up. The Indians proceeded to build a 14-5 lead less than five minutes into the game as five different players scored.

Bryan Baker scored five points during the charge on his way to a team-high 14 points.

Down by nine points the Bulldogs (15-6, 4-4) started fighting back.

Coleman led the Crestview charge scoring six points as the Bulldogs closed the quarter on an 8-2 run that pulled them to within three of the Indians.

Crestview stayed within striking distance most of the second quarter. A Baylark dunk with 4:30 left in the period cut the Indian lead to 22-21.

The Bulldogs took their first lead of the night a little more than 30 seconds later when Denzel Ware scored to put Crestview in front 23-22.

A Terrance Bryan basket put Choctaw back in front, but the Bulldogs would briefly regain the lead at 27-26 with a little more than a minute left in the half on a buck by Ware.

But Choctaw’s Baker scored the final five points of the half.

The second half was very similar to the first half.

The Indians took a lead of five or six points and the Bulldogs came fighting back. The third quarter ended with the game tied 44-44.

The fourth quarter turned out to be a battle of attrition that was decided at the free throw line as much as anything else.

The Bulldogs might have won the game on Baylark’s 3-pointer, but it could also be said that the Indians lost the game at the free throw line.

Choctaw hit just 5-of-16 free throws in the fourth quarter and was only 6-of-18 from the line for the game. And it wasn’t that Crestview was much better at the stripe as the Bulldogs connected on just 8-of-21 free throws.

Even so, with 1:29 left in the fourth quarter it looked as if Indians would escape with the win.

A Mikal Rodger basket for Choctaw off a missed free throw put the Indians in from 60-55.

Cline scored to narrow the Indian lead to 60-57, but missed a free throw that would have pulled the Bulldogs to within two points.

With 1:06 left on the clock Cline scored again to make it a one-point game.

In the final 45 seconds of the game the Indians missed 3-of-4 free throws. The one free throw the Indians did make gave them a two point lead with 16 seconds left in the game, which turned out to be enough time Baylark to hit the shot that gave the Bulldogs the win.

Coleman led the Bulldogs with 19 points. Baylark was good for 15. Cline scored eight and Ware and Jerry Aaron each scored six.