Pine Crest pulls off double-overtime miracle to win Class 4A state title

At one point on Saturday, Pine Crest looked like it was going to coast to the Class 4A state championship. At another point, the Panthers looked doomed to defeat.

Somehow, some way, Pine Crest pulled off the 90-83 victory over Alachua Santa Fe at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland, winning the fourth state championship in program history.

Behind twins Ausar and Amen Thompson, the Panthers built up a double-digit lead over the Raiders. With nearly five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Pine Crest led by 11 points. The one catch: Ausar Thompson, the Panthers’ leading scorer, had already accrued four fouls.

With five minutes to go in the fourth, Ausar Thompson raced with Santa Fe’s Mason Brown for a loose ball. Brown made contact with Thompson, but the referees called a defensive foul and a technical foul on Thompson, forcing him out of the game.

Santa Fe’s Dontrell Jenkins drained three of four free throws, and on the possession resulting from the technical foul, Cayvian Wakeley drained a 3-pointer. Pine Crest’s 11-point lead was cut to five.

Though the Panthers still held the lead, the momentum clearly shifted to the Raiders. Santa Fe went on an 11-0 run — including the free throws — and tied the game. In the fourth quarter, the Raiders outscored the Panthers 20-9.

Santa Fe took a one-point lead on a 3-pointer by Wakeley with 12 seconds left, but Amen Thompson hit a free throw with six seconds remaining to tie the game.

The Raiders’ momentum continued into the extra period. Santa Fe went on a 7-0 run to start overtime, and Pine Crest still trailed by eight points with 1:04 left to play. But Amen Thompson put the Panthers on his back.

The junior guard scored eight points in the final 43 seconds of overtime, pulling Pine Crest’s season away from the brink. Amen Thompson finished the game with 43 points and 13 rebounds.

Although Amen Thompson’s heroics kept the game alive, the Panthers relied on other players in the second overtime. Ben Brodsky and Erous Carpio scored early in the second overtime to give Pine Crest the lead. After Jenkins knocked down a three-pointer to put Santa Fe ahead 81-80 with 1:47 to go, Isaiah Ramsay hit four of five free throws to put Pine Crest back ahead. Luke Fatovic knocked down a basket, and Amen Thompson sealed the game with four straight free throws.