Senior rallies Baptist Prep by Mayflower

MAYFLOWER -- Baptist Prep's DJ Townsend did not make the game-winning shot in his team's 58-53 victory over Mayflower in the 3A-5 title game.

The senior guard didn't even hit the three-pointer Baptist Prep needed to reach overtime at the Eagles' gymnasium.

He hit just about everything else.

Townsend scored 23 of his game-high 25 points in the second half, and made 5 three-point shots in a frenetic fourth quarter.

"When I do things like that, I kind of go numb," Townsend said. "Once I hit one, mentally there is a switch that hits my brain that nobody can stop me and I'll hit another one.

"It's kind of like a snowball effect. No use of my brain at all."

Townsend had two points at halftime, and Mayflower led 21-16.

He was at six points entering the fourth quarter, his team trailing 32-27.

Mayflower was ahead 34-27 with 6:57 to play in the fourth quarter when Townsend hit his first three-pointer to make it 34-30.

He hit another with 6:17 to play, and it was 35-33 Mayflower.

Three-pointer No. 3 came at the 5:12 mark, and Townsend's fourth three-pointer tied the game at 39-39 at the 3:10 mark.

Mayflower led 45-41 after a three-point play by Braxtyn McCuien (21 points) with 2:02 to play, but Townsend answered with his fifth three-pointer of the quarter to make it 45-44 at the 1:02 mark.

Mayflower went up 47-44 after a driving layup by Kaleb Moody with 27 seconds to play, and the ball went back to Townsend one more time as the seconds ticked down.

Townsend's shot was too long this time, but Baptist Prep grabbed the rebound, and Jonathan Singleton hit a three-pointer with 4.4 seconds to play to force overtime.

"We've got a resilient team," Townsend said. "Everybody on this team can score."

That includes Singleton, who finished with 12 points.

"He's always working," Townsend said, "and it showed up tonight."

Baptist Prep (21-4) earned the No. 1 seed in next week's regional at Central Arkansas Christian, and it must win at least one game to qualify for the state tournament in Clinton.

That's the same situation for 19-3 Mayflower, which will be the No. 2 seed in the region.

Mayflower Coach Brent Stallings said it was disappointing to see his team squander a late lead to Baptist Prep for the second time in three weeks.

"We had a little lead down there, and we had a little lead down here, and they start making plays and we don't," Stallings said. "You got to make plays. You got to get a rebound, you got to make plays. If you don't, teams like that take advantage. They're a good squad."

Mayflower has lost two games by one point -- to Baptist Prep and Lamar. The five-point loss Saturday night was the largest margin of defeat the Eagles have suffered.

"It's just a clash of styles," Stallings said. "Both teams are good, and both teams will probably make some noise in the state tournament."

It's possible the two will meet for a fourth time in the regionals, and a fifth meeting in the Class 3A state tournament is not out of the question.

"That's a great team," Townsend said of Mayflower. "I love the competition, so I would love to play them again."

Baptist Prep Coach Steve Miller said games like the one Saturday prepare a team for bigger moments.

"Our backs were against the wall when they had that little lead there at the end of the game," Miller said. "We hit some big shots. We just kept battling."

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