- December 22, 2024
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With one second left in the game, Dr. Phillips' Ernest Udeh Jr. stepped up to the charity stripe after being fouled — at 48-46, two made free throws would tie the game and send it into overtime.
Udeh would sink the first, but came up short on the second — which was proceeded by a big rebound by West Orange senior Mike McCalister that sent the Warriors' bench into a frenzy as West Orange held on to beat their district foe in a dramatic 48-47 win Tuesday, Jan. 19, in Winter Garden.
After a generally tight first half that saw the the Panthers (12-3) take a narrow 23-22 lead into the break over the Warriors (11-4), the two teams battled it out into the waning minutes of the game as the Warriors and Panthers exchanged multiple blows in the last four minutes of the game. The back-and-forth led to multiple lead changes before West Orange's Joanes Polynice Jr. went 1-for-2 at the free-throw line to ultimately give the Warriors enough of an edge to prevent the Dr. Phillips comeback.
For the Warriors, McCalister would lead the way in the stat book with a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Jack Main added 11 points himself. Despite the loss for Dr. Phillips, junior guard Denzel Aberdeen led the Panthers with 20 points, while teammates Ernest Udeh scored 11 points and Riley Kugel tacked on 12 points.