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Deja Vu: Vikings win 2nd straight on last shot

By RICKEY CLARDY ~ Sports Writer
Posted 1/27/22

UNIONVILLE — It was deja vu all over again in Unionville Tuesday night.After Maki Fleming drilled a 30-foot buzzer-beater to defeat Cascade last week, Jason Cullum beat the buzzer from …

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Deja Vu: Vikings win 2nd straight on last shot

Posted

UNIONVILLE — It was deja vu all over again in Unionville Tuesday night.
After Maki Fleming drilled a 30-foot buzzer-beater to defeat Cascade last week, Jason Cullum beat the buzzer from virtually the same spot on the floor as the Vikings rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit with the help of an amazing scoring display by Stratton Lovvorn to defeat the Fairview Yellow Jackets 61-58.
The stage was set for Cullum after Lovvorn scored 21 consecutive Viking points in less than seven minutes as Community (9-13, 2-1) defeated the Yellow Jackets for the second time this season.  Fairview came into the game as the second-ranked team in the state in the AP Class 2A poll.
"We're still the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde group," Viking coach Robbie Davis said. 
"We've had some good practices coming into this,"  Davis added. "We knew this team coming in here tonight is really, really good. They're going to make a deep run in the tournament." 
The Vikings distributed the wealth in the opening quarter as five players netted points. 
Community led by seven before settling on a 13-10 lead heading to the second quarter.
The Yellow Jackets drilled four treys in the quarter to gain the upper hand.  Fairview outscored the Vikings 20-10 and took a 30-23 lead into the intermission.
The momentum continued for the Yellow Jackets in the third quarter. 
Fairview took its biggest lead at 39-25 and still led 44-33 when Lovvorn began his scoring spree with 1:28 left.  Lovvorn scored the final five points as the Yellow Jackets took a 44-38 lead to the final quarter.
The Fairview defense had no answer for Lovvorn in the quarter.
The senior connected on four straight treys and added two field goals as the Vikings tied the game at 54-54 with 2:48 remaining. 
"Stratt tonight, his shot was just not on at the beginning, but when the wheel gets turning for him, it gets going quick," Davis said.
Fleming and Lovvorn connected on field goals in the final minutes, but a Yellow Jacket trey tied the game at 58-58, giving the Vikings the final possession of the game with 28 seconds remaining. 
Community called a timeout with nine seconds left to set up the game-winning play.
After administering the throw-in, Fleming received the ball again and was quickly double-teamed.  Fleming found a wide-open Cullum, who hit nothing but net as the jubilant Vikings celebrated another walk-off win.
The Vikings ended up following another script from the play that was drawn up during the timeout.
"In game situations, we draw up stuff in the huddle and we get a little lost," Davis said.
"Our screen never happened, but Fleming kicked it, Jason had his feet set and did a good job of putting the ball in the basket," Davis added.
Lovvorn finished with 35 points to lead the Vikings.
Carter Durham had 14 points and Mays McCoy added 13 to lead the Yellow Jackets.
The Vikings were a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line while Fairview was 4-of-5.
Community travels to Cascade to take on the Champions Friday night in a District 7-AA matchup with sole possession of first place on the line. 
Game time is 7:30 p.m.            
                              
Fairview        10  20  14  14 — 58
Community   13  10  15  23 — 61
 
Fairview: Carter Durham 14, Mays McCoy 13, Kennedy Pendergrass 8, Nathan Dillingham 6, Shammah Takop, Jacob Neal 8, Jackson Arnold 5, Jon Sawyer 4.
Community: Stratton Lovvorn 35, Maki Fleming 9, Jason Cullum 5, Landon Lovvorn 4, Trace Broiles, Cole Crockett 4, Ramon Hernandez 2, Jacob Flannagan 2, Emery Smith, Corey Paterick.
3-Point goals: Fairview (10): Durham 4, Pendergrass 2, Dillingham 2, McCoy, Arnold; Community (7): S. Lovvorn 5, Fleming, Cullum.
Halftime score: Fairview 30, Community 23.