SPARTA, Ga. — Hancock-Central is heading back to the GHSA A-Public state championship game after some fourth quarter heroics. The Bulldogs beat the Dublin Fighting Irish 73-72 after Jamal Taylor scored a halfcourt buzzer-beating three-pointer.'
Both teams only had one loss on their record and were region champions coming into to Saturday's game.
Dublin held a two point lead, 72-70 with just 1.5 seconds left on the clock. The ball was inbounded to Taylor who had a clean look and nailed it before doing a Michael Jordan-esque jump and pump.
"You can't give up on your team. It was 1.5 seconds on the clock. I prayed to God. I shot it and it went in. Come on now, you know I do this," Taylor said postgame. "They had a pretty good, solid team and they were making shots. We were hitting shots, we were going back to back. Like I said, it's just a blessing. 1.5 seconds left on the clock. You have to shoot it."
It was Taylor's second-consecutive game winning shot. He scored 17 points in the game as did fellow bulldog Leroy Wilson. Marquavious Lawrence led all scorers with 20 points. Dublin's Kendell Wade led the Fighting Irish with 17 points. Tyquan Davis had 15.
The Bulldogs will play Towns County on March 13 in the Macon Centreplex.