Eagles eke out epic win in 2OT
No matter what Beaufort Academy’s boys threw at Patrick Henry in overtime Friday night, the Patriots had an answer — often in the neighborhood of a miracle. But PHA didn’t have a response for the raging fire that was Braydon Dineen in the second overtime period.
Dineen scored nine of his 17 points in the second extra session to complement a 30-point outburst from Te’Shaun Heyward and help BA escape with an 87-80 win despite a crazy comeback that forced double overtime.
BA bolted ahead 32-21 at halftime with a dominant second quarter, but the Patriots plugged away and had it within eight going to the fourth quarter before putting up 22 points in the period to force overtime.
The lead changed hands three times in the first overtime before BA opened up a five-point lead with 23 seconds left, but Forest Fairey and Noah Altman both hit 3-pointers and Davion Glover made a pair of free throws to force another session.
Dineen took over from there, hitting a pair of huge 3-pointers and closing it out at the line to lift the Eagles to a big region win.
BA (8-4, 3-0) had won four straight heading into a region game at Bethesda Academy in Savannah on Tuesday.
BA 87, Patrick Henry 80 (2OT)
BA (8-4, 3-0): Te’Shaun Heyward 30 pts, Braydon Dineen 17 pts
PHA (10-7, 3-1): Noah Altman 24 pts, 14 rebs; Forest Fairey 17 pts, 8 rebs, 4 ast, 5 stls; Davion Glover 15 pts, 4 ast; Hugh Fairey 14 pts, 10 rebs, 7 ast, 4 stls; Andrew Searles 10 pts, 10 rebs
Heyward stays hot in 5th straight win
Beaufort Academy’s girls basketball team is far from a one-woman show, but it’s become clear that Tahleea Heyward is the engine that drives the Eagles.
The T-Train kept rolling Friday — and so did BA — as Heyward poured in 24 points and Mike’Ala Washington added 21 in a 71-34 rout of a Patrick Henry team that played the Eagles to a two-point game just over two weeks earlier.
It’s BA’s fifth straight win and eight in its last nine games, and Heyward has been unstoppable during that stretch, topping 20 points in seven consecutive games beginning with a 21-point effort in a 33-31 comeback win over Patrick Henry in the War Hawk Holiday Tournament.
Despite her small stature, Heyward has become an effective scorer in the post, and she’s always been fearless in slashing to the basket. When Washington and Kamirah Freeman are knocking down jumpers, it’s a lethal combination to defend.
The Patriots (13-3, 2-1) didn’t have much luck Friday, and BA’s success at the offense allowed the Eagles to set up their defense and frustrate PHA, which shot just 25 percent from the field and had an uncharacteristic 29 turnovers. Harper Rice had 14 points, seven rebounds, and six steals to lead PHA.
BA (9-7, 3-0) hosts Thomas Heyward for region games Friday.
BA 71, Patrick Henry 34
BA (9-7, 3-0): Tahleea Heyward 24 pts; Mike’Ala Washington 21 pts
PHA (13-3, 2-1): Harper Rice 14 pts, 7 rebs, 6 stls
