Sports
Nighthawk Boys Basketball Pulls Off 2-Point Win in First Playoff
With many key players out with injuries, senior guard Casey Withers came to the rescue late in overtime.
WITH VIDEO: The No. 5-seeded Murrieta Valley High School Boys Basketball team pulled off a 2-point win after trailing Corona High School for almost the entire game at home Wednesday night during the first round of CIF 1AA Division playoffs.
Things were further complicated by star forward, senior Justin Gudger, suffering a first-quarter injury to his right ankle. He watched his teammates from the bench, as another couple of seniors were also not dressed out due to injuries--starting guard Austin Quick and reserve guard, senior Danny Forney.
With some heroics, the Nighthawks tied the game at the end of regulation and sent the game into overtime--a four-minute "forever." After two timeouts from the both teams and with 2.4 seconds left on the clock and trailing 47-48, junior forward Jackson Helms launched full-court to junior forward Darius Butler.
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The ball landed amongst two Murrieta Valley and two Corona players, and was then hit forcefully by Corona's 6-foot-5 Garrett Kiefer back towards his end of the court.
Fortunately for the Nighthawks, senior guard Casey Withers was in the right place at the right time. With just under two seconds left in the game, Casey took an unguarded shot from just beyond the 3-point arc and banked it in with 0.7 seconds showing on the clock.
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The final score was Murrieta Valley 50, Corona 48. The win means the Nighthawks advance to the second round on Friday against Valencia.
