Van Buren player, Michael Shockley, left, attempts to block the shot of Lookout Valley’s, Delaney Heathington Friday night at the Lookout Valley High School gym. Lookout Valley came away with the win with a score of 47-43.Lookout Valley’s Delaney Heathington was so excited about what happened Friday night, he flipped — literally.
If Heathington’s free throw with 6.2 seconds remaining didn’t punctuate the Yellow Jackets’ 47-43 District 6-A high school basketball victory over Van Buren County at Lookout Valley, his hand-spring backflip right after the final buzzer did.
The significance for Lookout Valley (19-5, 9-1) is it moves into sole possession of first place in the district standings ahead of Van Buren (17-6, 9-2) and Sale Creek, which also has two league losses.
Next Thursday, the Panthers could create a three-way tie for first place in the district standings when they host the Yellow Jackets, or Lookout Valley could clinch the regular-season title. That might cause Heathington to flip, too. He only pulls out the acrobatics periodically — the first time being last season when the Jackets beat Van Buren in the district-tournament final at Whitwell.
“It’s got to be a big win like that,” Heathington said. “It’s got to be a game that comes down to the nitty gritty.”