LIVINGSTON, Tenn. -- For the Howard Hustlin' Tigers to advance to the state basketball tournament, they were going to have to defeat Livingston Academy's infamous "Hog-Eye." But as the game progressed Monday night, they found something they hadn't had in a long time: the Eye of the Tiger.
Quincy Jones scored 25 points as the Tigers advanced to their second Class AA state tournament in three years by defeating the Wildcats 73-71 in a double-overtime sectional thriller.
After missing opportunities to close out the game in both regulation and the first overtime, Howard (26-4) hit nine of 10 free throws in the second overtime, building a five-point lead until a meaningless 3 by T.J. Smith at the buzzer.
The Tigers finished 26-for-36 from the foul line.
"All we work on is free throws," senior Chris Deloney said. "Coach (Walter McGary) always tells us that we have to knock them down or they will come back to bite you, and we were able to step up and knock them down."
Deloney had eight of his 14 points in the second overtime and finished 10-for-10 on free throws.
"This is a very big win," Deloney said. "We had to come out and play as a team; a lot of people doubted us from the beginning and we had to prove them wrong all year. We had faced adversity a lot this year, and coming in here we had to again."
Jones hit five 3s, including one to tie the game at 56 in the first overtime.
"He's my little engine that could," McGary said. "Sometimes he plays beyond himself, but when he stays within and carries the team on his back, I can't ask for anything better."
Reginald Hemphill added three 3s and 12 points as the Tigers hit nine 3s, compared to six for Livingston.
"We needed people to step up, not just one person," McGary said. "I told them that we needed to do this as a team, and they bought into it."
Hemphill's final 3 gave Howard the lead for good at 64-62, and then after a Barry Griffin block, Howard regained possession and knocked down free throws for the win.
Jones added nine rebounds and three assists while playing all 40 minutes, while Deloney had 10 rebounds and four assists. Griffin had nine rebounds.
"I told the guys that they had been in three pressure-cookers since Christmas," McGary said. "We needed to get that Eye of the Tiger back, to have the desire to play defense and take care of each other. I knew that if we brought that back, we could compete with anybody.
"It's not going to get any tougher than what we faced tonight with the hostile environment and a good team, but I thought tonight was the first time we had competed in a long time."
Class AA Sectional
HOWARD 73, LIVINGSTON 71 (2 OT)
Howard 17 17 9 8 8 14 -- 73
Livingston 13 21 7 10 8 12 -- 71
Howard (73) -- Quincy Jones 25, Griffin 4, Chris Deloney 14, Young 7, Ross 8, Reginald Hemphill 12, Suttles 1, Cameron 3.
Livingston Academy (71) -- Jackson 5, T.J. Smith 21, Ke. Melton 6, Wilson, Ka. Melton 2, Huitt 7, Logan Ramsey 12, Mason Ramsey 18, McCoin.
3-point goals: Howard 9 (Jones 5, Hemphill 3, Cameron); Livingston 6 (Smith 2, Huitt 2, M. Ramsey 2). Other highlights: Deloney 10 r, 4 a; Jones 9 r, 3 a; Barry Griffin 9 r (H). Records: Howard 26-4; Livingston 28-7.
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