PULASKI, Tenn. – Jemeereo Spain only scored four points on the night, but came up with the biggest play of the evening when he made an acrobatic save of a full-court pass with 1.8 seconds left in the ballgame to preserve the lead and give Martin Methodist a 63-61 win over Brewton-Parker (Ga.) College Thursday night in the Curry Christian Life Center.
After Jordan Olison gave the RedHawks (7-20, 6-10 SSAC) a 63-59 lead with eight seconds to play, it appeared as if the RedHawks might be able to finally breathe a sigh of relief and escape with a hard-fought win.
But a Brewton-Parker shot swished home with 1.8 seconds left on the clock and forced a dramatic finish to the contest.
Will Smith triggered the inbound pass for the RedHawks and threw a length-of-the-court pass to Spain, who had to race and catch up to the ball to start the clock.
Spain jumped in the air, seized possession of the ball and safely lobbed the pass into the waiting arms of Olison, who ran out the final tenths of a second on the game clock.
It was a somewhat fitting end to an unconventional game that saw the RedHawks lead on just a handful of occasions, despite playing the contest within striking distance for much of the night.
Olison led the RedHawks with 15 points despite sinking just three field goals. The junior added seven more points at the free-throw line on a 7-of-8 effort.
Will Smith added 10 points for the RedHawks. JJ Jones scored just five points but tracked down a team-high nine rebounds in the win.
The RedHawks will close out their 2018 regular home schedule on Saturday when they host Middle Georgia State College. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.
The RedHawk Men and Women's Basketball teams will celebrate Senior Night in between Saturday's doubleheader.