CALHOUN, Ga. - Vince Layson knew any chance his Calhoun boys' basketball team had of winning Wednesday night's GHSA Class AAA quarterfinal against Jenkins rested on the shoulders of guard Malik Lawrence.
Facing a Jenkins team gifted with superior athletes, Lawrence was the one Calhoun player capable of more than holding his own up and down the court. The senior did that and more, scoring 15 of his game-high 25 points in the final period as the Yellow Jackets won a 65-60 thriller.
Calhoun (23-4) will face Morgan County in the semifinal round at 8 p.m. Saturday at Armstrong State University in Savannah.
"Malik took over," Layson said. "He's a senior, and we had a talk a little earlier this afternoon about some growing pains he's had this year. I told him, 'You've got to want the ball at the end of this game.' He did that when we really needed it tonight."
The game was physical from the opening tip, which played into Jenkins' game plan of spreading out on the offensive end, going one on one and then going all out for offensive rebounds. The Jackets never backed down, but the style of play caused Layson to alter his lineup.
"For the most part I applaud the officials for letting the physical play go both ways," he said. "We had to go with a bigger lineup to counter their rebounding. Those guys did what they had to on the boards, and we got just enough of them."
They were a problem in the third period, though, as the visitors from Savannah used five offensive rebounds to go from trailing 31-29 at halftime to leading 37-33 after a Tyrone Scott putback halfway into the quarter, which ended with a Lawrence 3-pointer and a 39-39 tie.
Four points from Zion Williams tied the game at 47 - one of five ties in the final period - but Lawrence answered with a strong drive, then did so again after Travion Lamar briefly tied it back up. It was 52-52 when Calhoun's Chapin Rierson, who was held scoreless for three periods, hit a 3-pointer with 2:14 left.
Lawrence gave Calhoun some breathing room with two free throws for a 59-55 lead with 1:09 left, but Williams nailed a 3-pointer to keep the Warriors in it. Jenkins had the ball with his team down one point with 28 seconds left, but Lawrence poked the ball free, dove into the pile and forced a jump ball, with Calhoun gaining possession.
Lawrence then was fouled, hit two free throws and - with five seconds left after Jenkins missed a 3-point attempt - hit two more to seal a spot in the state semifinals.
"The difference to me was that we just wanted it more in the end," Lawrence said. "It was a very physical game, but we kept our discipline and worked as a team. It's great going to the final four as a senior, but we've got more work to do."
Davis Allen backed Lawrence with 18 points, with Kaylan Aker adding 11.
Williams led Jenkins (22-8) with 24 points, with Lamar adding 18 and nine rebounds.
"This is unbelievable, just hard to describe," an elated Layson said. "It was all about heart and defense. The guys bought in and dug in tonight for 32 minutes of hard work."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.