ATHENS - The Garaway Pirates fell short in the Division III Regional round for the second straight year after suffering a 49-47 semifinal loss to Columbus Africentric Early College on Wednesday night at Ohio University.
The Pirates (22-5) led 26-21 at halftime, but found their lead chipped away throughout the final two quarters, culminating to a point with 1:55 remaining in the contest, when Jenson Garber's lay-up attempt was blocked by Dailyn Swain as Garaway pleaded for a goaltending call.
No call was made, and the Nubians would tie the game at 44-all on a Preston Steele and-1 in the following possession. Steele's following free throw gave Africentric a 45-44 advantage, but Drew Mullet gave Garaway a 47-45 lead with 39 seconds left via a 3-pointer from the left corner. The Nubians would respond, however, as Swain made a spinning layup to tie the game at 47-47 with 28 seconds left.
The Pirates would fail to score on their next possession and draw a foul with six seconds left, allowing Africentric's Cortez Freeman to make a free throw to make it 48-47. Freeman's next attempt would miss, but Garber's long pass downcourt to Mullet went out of bounds to give the Nubians the game-icing possession.
Garaway's Brady Roden would lead with 14 points, followed by Alexander Roden (12 points).
Swain (20 points) and Freeman (19 points) combined to make 14 of Africentric's 16 field goals.
The Nubians will return to Athens to play South Point on Saturday, Mar. 11 at 1 p.m. for a spot in the Division III State semifinal.
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