BRISTOL, Tenn. — Fayetteville survived an all-out assault from the son of a former NBA All-Star late Tuesday night in Viking Hall.
Weathering a 33-point outburst from Tim Hardaway Jr., the Bulldogs advanced to the semifinals of the 27th Arby’s Classic with a 55-49 overtime win over Miami Palmetto.
Adam Nobel’s three-point play with 1:38 remaining in the extra period sparked a game-ending 7-0 run for Fayetteville (10-2), which will meet Greater Atlanta Christian in tonight’s second semifinal at 7:30.
“If we’re going to go down that road to win another state championship, you have to win games like this,” Fayetteville coach Barry Gebhard said.
Following Nobel’s clutch conversion, the Bulldogs forced an off-balance 3-pointer from Hardaway that caromed off the front iron.
Fayetteville ran the clock down to 32.7 seconds before Kikko Haydar drew a foul and canned two free throws for a 53-49 lead. After Austin Hunt missed a 3-pointer, Colton Primm converted Taylor Cochran’s pass into a game-clinching layup with 16.5 ticks on the clock.
Hardaway Jr. put the Bulldogs in an immediate first-quarter hole, scoring his team’s first 10 points in a 12-3 run. The 6-foot-5 senior hit 11-of-25 field goals, including five 3s, against multiple defenders.
Gebhard compared him to Ronnie Brewer, a former Fayetteville star who starts for the NBA’s Utah Jazz.
“If Tim makes that first 3-pointer, you say, ‘Uh, oh.’ He’s a great, great player,” Gebhard said.
“He’s probably the best we’ve played against this year,” Cochran said of Hardaway.
But Hardaway’s other teammates combined for just 16 points on 6-of-20 shooting, with only three other Panthers scoring.
Haydar scored 17 points and came up with eight steals for the Bulldogs, while Cochran added 13 points despite going just 5-of-22 from the floor. Nobel finished with 11.
Haydar bagged 13 in the first half, including a buzzer-beating 60-footer to end the first quarter which gave Fayetteville its first lead at 13-12.
The Bulldogs led 28-22 at halftime before Hardaway scored 10 in the third quarter, including a four-point play, to even the game at 39-39.
Fayetteville is two wins away from taking the Arby’s trophy to Arkansas for the first time.
“This is a great tourney,” Cochran said. “We’re representing Arkansas and it would mean a lot for us to win it."