YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. – A last second 32-foot desperation 3-pointer by Alphonso Willis gave Young Harris College a 97-94 win over Flagler College in a Peach Belt Conference men's basketball game Wednesday afternoon at the YHC Basketball Arena.

Young Harris improved to 4-6 overall and evened its Peach Belt record at 2-2. Flagler fell to 5-4 overall and 2-1 in conference play.

Willis' layup gave the Mountain Lions a 94-93 lead with nine seconds left to go and Flagler called a timeout to set up its offense.

Vaughn McCall took the in-bounds pass in front of the scorer's table and drove towards the paint and drew a blocking foul on Brian Harper with two seconds left. McCall sank the first free throw to tie the game, but after a Young Harris timeout, McCall's second shot went off the right side of the rim.

Justin Jones collected the rebound, dribbled up to half court and launched a shot at the buzzer that did not go in. However, just before his shot, Paul Miller was granted timeout by the official closest to him, which stopped the clock with one second left. The Mountain Lions had one timeout left.

Coming out of the timeout, Miller found Willis, who flashed in from the Mountain Lion logo, did a quick catch and jump. His heave went straight through the bottom of the net to end the game. 

Miller led the Mountain Lions with 18 points. The lone assist he had in the game was on the final shot. Willis finished with 16 points and the only 3-pointer he took in the game was the one at the buzzer. He added eight rebounds.

Harper and Cheick Kone each added 17 points for the Mountain Lions.

Damerit Brown led all scorers with 25 points. He made 8-of-17 from the field and was 5-of-13 from 3-point range. Brown added a season-high nine rebounds. Gedi Juozapaitis recorded his third-straight double-double with 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. McCall added 19 points while Logan Swackhammer tallied 13 points, six assists, and four steals. Kris Totoris contributed 12 points.

"What a tough way to lose a game," said head coach Chad Warner. "Credit to Young Harris for a gutty effort and win. I told my team afterwards that I hurt with them, but I sure do love them and their fight. The best is yet to come."

Flagler made 17 treys, which tied for second-highest in a game (vs. Florida Christian, Jan. 15, 2007). The 43 three-pointers attempted were the most taken by a Saints team in the NCAA Division II era.

The Saints trailed by as many as nine in the second half, including being down 82-73 with 5:20 left in the game. Flagler countered with a 13-4 run over the next 2:13 to tie the game at 86 with a little over three minutes left.

Swackhammer's layup with 1:43 left to go gave the Saints a 90-88 lead.

After a pair of Young Harris free throws tied the game, Brown sank a 3-pointer to give Flagler a 93-90 advantage.

Two more free throws by the Mountain Lions and Willis' layup with nine seconds left gave Young Harris a 94-93 lead.

The Mountain Lions made 29-of-37 from the free throw line (78.4 percent), but made 22-of-25 (88 percent) in the second half alone.

Flagler will break for the holidays and return to action on Jan. 5 against Georgia College. That will be Flagler's first home game since Dec. 1. Tip at Flagler Gymnasium is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.    



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