- December 2nd, 2006, 8:53 am
#44577
http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Sate ... th=!sports
Brookville wins on Dunton's buzzer-beater
By Ted Allen
Lynchburg News & Advance
December 2, 2006
Working off a screen from 6-foot-4 forward Logan Thomas, Brookville senior point guard Matt Dunton drove to the top of the key and calmly swished the game-winning shot as time expired in the Friday night's 49-47 season-opening boys basketball victory over E.C. Glass.
On a night when Brookville retired the jersey of Detroit Tigers standout Brandon Inge between the girls and boys games, the Bees gave their frenzied fans in The Hive plenty to buzz about. They rallied from a 10-point deficit late in the third quarter and outscored the Hilltoppers 15-5 in the fourth.
"The crowd helped us out a lot and I think Glass got a little rattled by it at the end," Dunton said. "It was crazy. It was a great feeling."
"It was a great atmosphere," said Glass first-year coach Roy Roberson, who returned to his alma mater after coaching the past three years at Holy Cross. "Give Dunton credit, he hit a hell of a shot. Players make plays and he's a player."
The drama was nothing new between these two cross-town non-district rivals.
"Glass, the last three or four times we've played them, it's always come down to a last-second shot, which it did again tonight," Brookville coach Chris Young said. "I have a lot of confidence in Matt. He's really grown the last three or four years and he's a playmaker."
The Hilltoppers took their largest lead when James Hobson came up with a steal and sent a fast-break pass to Tony Banks, who finished with a layup despite being fouled. He completed the three-point play to make it 39-29.
But Brookville opened the fourth quarter by blocking a shot by Hobson before Dunton lofted a pass to Corby Weiss, who tapped it in on transition to trim the lead to 42-36. Two minutes later, Dunton rattled in a 3-pointer from the right corner to tie the game at 43.
Thomas later tied the game at 47 with 1:00 to play after receiving a lob pass from Bradley Weiss in a wide-open lane. Glass held for the last shot before Banks, looking to go one-on-one, stepped on the sideline near his bench with 5.6 seconds to go, giving the Bees the chance to win in regulation.
"The third quarter, we started doing the things that we practice, but then in the fourth quarter, we got away from it and we did a poor job of executing," Roberson said. "I think they competed.
"I've got to get my kids to play hard; they've got to compete. But it's one thing to play hard and another to play hard and smart."
Glass got several second shots in the second and third quarters, when many of Brookville's starters were on the bench.
"We were in a lot of foul trouble and we let them get into the paint and gave up too many offensive rebounds," Young said.
Dunton is the only senior in a starting lineup that features two juniors and two sophomores, Thomas and Corby Weiss.
"Four of our starters had two fouls in the first half," Dunton said. "Our bench did a great job of keeping us in the game."
Brookville forward George Williams, who transferred from Liberty Christian Academy this year after moving to Lynchburg from Houston last year, made an impact in his debut.
He didn't play much for the Bulldogs last year due to an ankle injury, but was the Bees' leading scorer with 11 points.
"George is a huge asset for Brookville," Dunton said.
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