LeFlore’s Kieman Smith-Franklin lays in the winning shot in overtime as the Rattlers edged Charles Henderson 60-59 in the Class 5A South Regional semifinals at Garrett Coliseum in Montgomery. (Helen Joyce/Call News)
By JIMMY WIGFIELD
MONTGOMERY — LeFlore’s Kieman Smith-Franklin didn’t have the best game of his life in the first 32 minutes of regulation Thursday but that changed in four minutes of overtime.
If not for his blocked shot on one end of the court and his game-winning lay-in on the other end with 28 seconds remaining in overtime, the Rattlers’ mission to capture their first state championship in a generation would have ended in ignominy after letting a 15-point lead unravel in the Class 5A South Regional semifinals at Garrett Coliseum.
No. 6-ranked LeFlore edged No. 7 Charles Henderson 60-59 but only after a layup by the Trojans’ Kam Christian following a frenetic final sequence was waved off by an official as time ran out.
The Rattlers (21-9) will play Vigor (17-9) in the regional finals Tuesday at 2:15 p.m. and could go to the state’s final four with a chance to win the school’s fifth Blue Map — but its first since 2007.
Franklin, a 6-4 senior forward, scored just 5 points in regulation as the teams’ tenacious man-to-man defenses contested nearly every shot.
But after Henderson took its first lead of the game in overtime, Franklin’s free throw cut the lead to 57-56 and O’Brian Evans’ pullup jumper cut it to 59-58.
Franklin then blocked a shot under the basket and, after LeFlore coach Johnny Mayhane called a timeout, the Rattlers worked the ball close and Ethan Foster — whose putback lifted the Rattlers to a 58-57 upset of No. 2 Williamson in the sub-regionals — found Franklin even closer with a short bounce pass for the 60-59 lead.
The Trojans (20-7) had plenty of time to get off a winning shot — and actually did, though it was a fraction too late.
Franklin missed a pair of free throws with 6.4 seconds to go and Cody Cross, who missed a driving layup after Franklin’s lay-in, got trapped on the sideline after coming over halfcourt but saw Christian racing to the basket for a layup that was waved off by the officials because time had expired.
“I always tell my guys before we start the game, just have energy, man,” Mayhane said. “And (Franklin) had a slow start and then he picked it up at the end. He’s probably one of my most athletic guys. And he came up with a big block and then he found himself around the basket to make a layup. I tell the kids, man, just keep playing.”
Foster probably could have taken the winning shot himself but found Franklin for an even higher-percentage attempt.
“I tell the guys, you’ve gotta believe in the next man,” Mayhane said. “You can’t beat nobody by yourself.”
Evans scored 22 points and De’antonio Lesueur added 10 for LeFlore, which built a 15-point lead in the second half before Henderson’s press forced enough mistakes to make it close. Finally, Christian’s steal and layup that swirled tantalizingly around the basket before falling in with 5.5 seconds left in regulation tied it 55-55 and forced overtime. The game had not been tied since the tip-off.
“It wasn’t the press, it was just a mental lapse out of my team,” Mayhane said. “Like I told the guys, you’ve just gotta be mentally strong when it comes down to controlling the ball and just handling the ball and the press.”
In the end, the Rattlers’ tenacious defense, which held the Trojans to 33% shooting, made the difference.
“We’re pretty much man to man,” Mayhane said. “That’s the umbrella I came up with under Otis Hughley.”
It was Hughley who won the school’s last state championship 18 years ago to go with two by J.D. Shelwood in 1986 and 1989 and another under Robert Bettis in 2002.
Is it finally time for another one?
“If God presents that, well, I know He’s not really written the book,” Mayhane said. “So, we are just taking Him with us and we are just taking this ride as long as we can.”
