Auburn had made only 2-of-7 free throws down the stretch against LaFayette on Tuesday night.
So when junior Michael Willis toed the line with 5.9 seconds left in overtime, it was an iffy proposition.
“I hoped he’d make one of them, at least,” Auburn coach Frank Tolbert said.
After clanking his first free throw, Willis knocked down the second, giving the Tigers all they needed in an 83-82 home win.
Auburn (13-13) had a 3-point lead late in the fourth quarter. But the Bulldogs’ Marquiris Burton, who had missed his six previous shots, swished a 3-pointer with six seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime.
“I knew we had a shooter that could make it,” LaFayette coach John Woody said. “We ran a little play to set him up to get that open shot. We got it like we wanted to and he flushed it down.”
Burton’s 3 at the end of regulation was impressive. His 4-point play to tie the game with 11 seconds left in overtime was astounding.
The senior guard scored 20 points for the Bulldogs.
Willis got the ball up the court and was fouled on the next possession, making the eventual game-winning free throw. The 6-foot-4 guard led the Tigers with 18 points on the night, with 12 coming in the fourth quarter and overtime.
“Everything has been happening to us all year long,” Tolbert said. “But the most important thing about it is you teach the kids the game is never over until the buzzer sounds. And those kids hung in there.”
The Bulldogs led by as many as 11 points in the second quarter but could never put the Tigers away.
“We just forget to play sometimes,” Woody said. “That’s our biggest problem. We think we have it made, and we don’t have it made.”
John Sullen added 14 points for Auburn, while Jason Webb and Calvin Jenkins each put in 10. Jenkins also contributed nine assists and five steals.
The Bulldogs’ Tobius Ray stuffed the stat sheet with 21 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in a losing effort. Despite battling foul trouble, Antoine Heard scored 17, and Nicholas Wright added 10. Vonson Trammell pulled down 13 rebounds off the bench.
LaFayette staged a furious fourth-quarter comeback to beat Auburn, 49-44, in the girls’ game.
The Bulldogs trailed 35-25 at the end of the third quarter but opened the final eight minutes on a 15-3 run to take the lead with 2:55 left.
LaFayette’s Erica Williams led all scorers with 25 points, 12 of them coming in the final quarter, and Mercedes Rutledge added 18.
Tarnesha Stephens led Auburn (15-9) with 17 points, and Olivia Cook finished with 12.
The Tigers won the coin toss for the Class 6A, area 8 regular season title Monday and will host the area tournament on Feb. 5 and 7.
dmorrison@oanow.com | 737-2568
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