JASPER, Tenn. - As a senior there simply was no way Darius Graves was going to let his team lose. In the win-or-go-home Region 3-A basketball semifinals Tuesday, the Arts & Sciences guard took over in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, leading a rally that resulted in a 53-49 win over stubborn Richard Hardy.
Both teams had opportunities to advance from the elimination round, but Graves scored the Patriots' final seven points and 10 of his team-high 23 in the fourth quarter. That included the go-ahead basket - a nice running teardrop that fell with 1:26 remaining.
CSAS led the rest of the way, but the deciding sequence came when Graves missed the back half of a one-and-one but managed to out-hustle everyone else to grab the rebound with just three seconds to go. He drilled both subsequent free throws to put the game away.
"I knew if I missed it was going to the right, because I know my shot," Graves said. "I broke for the ball as soon as I let the shot go, because I could tell where it was going.
"We've worked too hard and come too far not to win this game. I worked all summer just for this game, because now we have a shot at getting to the state tournament."
The Patriots (23-8) will face Van Buren County in Thursday's region title game after the Eagles defeated Silverdale Baptist 49-31. The region champion will host a sectional game Monday and the loser must travel.
CSAS, which was making its 16th straight appearance in the region semifinals, scored the game's first 14 points and raced to an 18-2 lead midway through the first quarter. But after the Hawks made five second-quarter 3-pointers, the lead was just one by halftime.
"I think we relaxed a little bit when we got up so early, and to their credit Richard Hardy made some tough shots in the second to get back in it," Patriots coach Mark Dragoo said. "But we've got four seniors that have been in this type atmosphere many times, and I think that experience really helped down the stretch."
The Patriots, who had rallied from double-digit deficits in the two regular-season meetings to win by seven and three points, extended their lead to eight early in the third quarter before the Hawks responded with a 9-0 run to take their first lead with 2:15 to go in the period on two free throws by Allan Wynne.
From there the score was either tied or changed hands 10 times until Graves put CSAS up for good late.
Van Buren (25-6) began steadily pulling ahead in the second quarter of the other game, then put it away with a 15-2 run in the third. Cade Mills led all scorers with 21 points for the Eagles.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.