DALTON, Ga. - Jon Morgan stole the show in the first half of LaFayette's 44-43 Region 6-AAAA basketball semifinal victory against Heritage on Thursday night at Southeast Whitfield.
Alex Kelehear, though, brought down the curtain.
After Morgan put the Ramblers on his shoulders in a first half in which he scored 23 of their 25 points, fellow guard Kelehear made the game-winning shot with five seconds to play as LaFayette (22-3) earned a spot in tonight's championship game.
The Ramblers will face top-seeded Northwest Whitifleld (17-8), which defeated Ridgeland 70-55 in Thursday's other boys' semifinal behind 24 points from Luke Shiflett and 19 from Tanner Boyd.
Ridgeland (10-16) and Heritage (19-8) will play for third place at 5:30 p.m. today.
"It was a fun game, at least for the players and fans," LaFayette coach Hank Peppers said. "For us coaches, it probably took years off our lives. "
Heritage rode the broad shoulders of junior post Cole Wilcox to build a 10-3 lead in the first period before Morgan started his one-man show. The slender 6-foot-4 junior ended the first period with a rebound putback and a 3-pointer. He then lit up the Generals for four more 3-pointers and a three-point play as the Ramblers built a 25-18 halftime lead.
"Jon Morgan can be as good as he wants to be," Peppers said. "It's all clicking for him right now, and he's a handful. He's just starting to realize how good he can be, and we needed it tonight."
Heritage, though, rallied in the third quarter, even with Wilcox missing extensive time after picking up his fourth foul. A pair of Blake Bryan 3-pointers sparked an 11-4 run to end the period as LaFayette's lead was cut to 34-33.
Neither team assumed control in the final quarter, with Heritage cutting the lead to one when Tylon Gaines fed Seth Carter for a layup. The Generals then took a 43-42 lead on Blake Bryan's runner in the lane with 21 seconds to play.
It was at that point Peppers decided to let Kelehear decide the game.
"It wasn't as much about drawing things up as opposed to just spreading the floor and getting the ball in Alex's hands," he said. "I trust him to make good decisions, and he made the right play tonight, obviously."
Kelehear calmly brought the ball up court, made a move at the 3-point line and, finding an opening, rose for a jumper that found its mark. Heritage had another possession, but Bryan's off-balanced long shot was just off.
"I saw a defender come right and decided to spin, and when I faced the basket I expected Cole Wilcox to stop, step up, and I was going to dump it inside," Kelehear said. "However, he didn't, so I pulled up and shot it, and luckily it went in."
Morgan, the object of increased defensive attention in the second half, finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Wilcox topped Heritage's stat sheet with 16 points (including the 1,000th of his high school career), 11 rebounds and five blocked shots.
In the girls' semifinals, the top seeds advanced. Heritage broke open a tie game with 29 points in the final period to top Gilmer 64-43 as Tori Harvey scored a game-high 24 points, while Northwest Whitfield had little trouble with Pickens, winning 53-33 as Chandler Hiland led a balanced attack with 11 points.
Northwest (20-5) and Heritage (25-2), which split their season series and required a coin flip to make the former the top seed, meet again tonight in the title game.
Border rivals Gilmer (10-13) and Pickens (17-10) will play for third place at 4 p.m. today.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.