Vince Dawson’s Buzzer Beater Propels Great Crossing to Sweet 16
In a game worthy of a state championship, Vince Dawson hit a buzzer-beater to give No. 1 Great Crossing a 56-53 win over No. 2 Lexington Catholic and punch the Warhawks’ first-ever ticket to the Sweet 16.
Instead of being played at Rupp Arena, the two duked it out across town at Paul Laurence Dunbar in front of a capacity crowd that included Kentucky coaches John Calipari and Orlando Antigua.
The Warhawks, who are ranked No. 14 nationally by MaxPreps, had a frantic rally in the final minute to stun the Knights. A John Reinhart three-pointer put the Knights up 53-50. After a defensive stop, Lexington Catholic appeared to be in control as they held the ball for over 45 seconds before Great Crossing elected to foul with 50 seconds remaining.
Instead of trying to hold the ball again, the Knights ran a play to get Tyler Doyle loose for a layup, but Malachi Moreno came out of nowhere to block it. Dawson calmly tied the score with a triple inside the final 30 seconds.
Instead of holding for the final shot, Catholic took a challenged three with about 10 seconds remaining. The Warhawks grabbed the rebound and rushed down the court in time for Dawson to hit another triple as the buzzer sounded.
“I didn’t know how much time was left, so all I could think about was shoot. It worked out in my favor,” Dawson said.
It certainly did.
Dawson finished with 23 points on 10-for-14 shooting and added nine boards. He poured in 16 second-half points and started to take over the game with his team trailing 41-34 late in the third quarter. Moreno had 11 points, nine boards, five rebounds, and five huge blocks. Point guard Junius Burrell had 13 points and played steady, handling the patented Lexington Catholic pressure defense well.
Tyler Doyle had 25 points for Catholic, including their first eight points of the third quarter to open up the 41-34 lead. The Warhawks put the clamps on him after that. The sharpshooter Reinhart added 15 points, including three triples, but the rest of the Knights only combined for 13 points.
Lexington Catholic held a 33-26 lead late in the first half, thanks to 11 second-chance points, but Dawson hit a buzzer-beater to end the half, which was a sign of things to come.
Great Crossing (34-1) remains undefeated against in-state competition. The junior-led team will start their quest for a state championship on Wednesday, March 20 at Rupp Arena against 8th Region champ Spencer County (24-9) at 8:30 PM. Lexington Catholic (32-3) will look to reload after graduating five senior starters.
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