CHATSWORTH, Ga. – Jacob King let out a smile that his coach and others will long remember as the final seconds ticked away in the Region 6-AAA boys’ basketball championship game.
The Lakeview Fort-Oglethorpe Warriors rallied behind their senior King, who scored 18 points in Monday’s 58-47 victory over a host North Murray squad that had beat them on the same court by 20 points on Jan. 21.
The motivated Warriors led by as many as 17 points in the third quarter. Freshman budding star Brent Bowman was an igniter and finisher, as he scored nine first-quarter points and added 10 in the fourth quarter.
“I remember when they told me I couldn’t play after they found something wrong with my heart,” said King, who recently was cleared to play again. “I kept my teammates’ heads up the whole time, though. I told them if I came back, we are winning region.
“I knew we could do it. We have an amazing team. We have worked hard every practice, through ups and downs and injuries. We worked and never stopped. That’s what has pushed us this far.”