Girls basketball | Southeast misses opportunities in final minute, falls to Dunbar in region semifinal
MANATEE -- Narrow wins were familiar for Southeast this season. When the Seminoles were caught in a tight game late during the fourth quarter, head coach John Harder usually had a play he could run to at least guarantee a good look at the basket.
With 4.7 seconds remaining against Fort Myers Dunbar in Tuesday's Class 5A-Region 3 semifinal, Southeast found itself in another one-possession game. Harder called up "overtime I" -- essentially the "picket fence" play from "Hoosiers" fame -- and the Noles found Marline Valcin in the paint.
Dunbar swarmed and Valcin tried to lift a shot toward the rim. Instead, the ball squirted loose and the Tigers recovered to hold on for a 53-52 win at the Benjamin "Buzz" Narbut Memorial Gymnasium. For the first time this season, Southeast dropped a one-possession game.
"I'm very, very proud of both teams. It was a very competitive game," Harder said. "Dunbar's one point better."
Neither team led by more than five points and the game was tied as late as the 4:40 mark in the fourth quarter. The Tigers jumped ahead less than a minute later and never trailed again.
By the final minute, Dunbar led by four. The Seminoles (25-5) turned up the tempo and their pressure, and Shauntavia Green raced down the court for a layup in less than seven seconds. The Tigers (23-5) didn't attempt another shot as the Noles forced them into three consecutive turnovers.
Southeast had three possessions with a chance to take the lead in the final 25 seconds but scored only one point on a free throw by Breyonna Reed.
"We were just glad to hang on," Dunbar head coach Dwayne Donnell said.
Reed turned the ball over with 20 seconds remaining and sank 1 of 2 free throws
with seven seconds left to cut the Tigers' lead to one.
Dunbar tried to inbound and called a timeout to avoid a five-second violation. On the second try, Faith Mays swatted the inbound pass and let the Noles set up their offense.
With 4.5 seconds left, Green barreled down the right side of the paint against a new Dunbar defense. Donnell called a zone and Valcin couldn't find space to leak to the baseline.
"We didn't want them to screen us," Donnell said. "They thought we were going to be man-to-man, and I thought it kind of threw them off. It really frazzled them for a second."
Green and Valcin carried Southeast's offense with 16 and 10 points, respectively. Valcin also grabbed a team-leading 16 rebounds.
Dunbar shooting guard Dekeriya Patterson dropped 25 and Ja'Miah Bland added 16. The duo combined with small forward Respect Leaphart to score 50 of Dunbar's 53 points.
"When the other one stumbled, she seemed to have the ball in her hand," Harder said of Patterson. "They all played well, but that's your star."
The Tigers advance to play Booker in Sarasota in Friday's regional final.
David Wilson, Herald sports writer, can be contacted at 941-745-7057 or on Twitter @DBWilson2
This story was originally published February 10, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Girls basketball | Southeast misses opportunities in final minute, falls to Dunbar in region semifinal ."