LAMP coach Anthony Norris got an early Valentine’s Day present on Friday with Bryan Young’s heroics. The win put the Tigers in the Central Regional at Alabama State’s Acadome for the first time in school history. (Staff Photo)

By Graham Dunn
RRS Editor

Forgive Bryan Young if his feet haven’t touch the ground for a couple of days.

The junior forward from LAMP High School may not have found earth due to an amazing shot and free throw he made that allowed the Golden Tigers to live another day in the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 3A playoffs.

LAMP defeated Dadeville, 84-83, on Friday in the Class 3A Central sub-regional round at the Robert E. Lee gym

"That’s about as exciting as it can get," said LAMP coach Anthony Norris, who will take the Tigers to their first-ever Central regional tournament on Thursday to face Greene County at the Alabama State Acadome at 7:30 p.m.

"I’m not really sure how we managed being down eight points with about two minutes left, but I kept telling them, ‘if this is how you want to go out, so be it. But keep working and something good will happen."

Norris was right.

Leading by three with 22 seconds left in the game, Dadeville missed a pair of free throws opening the door for the Tigers. Alec Pitts drove to the 3-point line and launched a shot that hit hard off the side of the rim. The ball ricochet to the right baseline where Young ran it down. He dribbled twice before trying the three. As he did Dadeville’s Dominique Wilkerson reached in and grabbed him from behind.

"At first, I wasn’t in a setup to shoot," Young explained. "I was looking for someone open. Both pass lanes were blocked off. Time was running out and I got the shot off. The guy came from the side and grabbed me. He grabbed my waist to throw me off balance. I had already gotten off the shot so it didn’t affect the shot."

Young was on the ground when the shot went in.

"I didn’t see it go up. I did see it go in," Young said. "After it went in, the whole student section was beside me."

Yet, there were still seven seconds left to play, plenty of time for Dadeville to hit its own game-winning shot.

"We jumped into a full-court man-to-man, which we don’t normally use that often," Norris said. "They had a good shooter (Andy Clark) and we knew if they could get to him or one of their other shooters, they could still win the game.

"Only thing, we didn’t have any timeouts to set up our defense."

On Dadeville’s first attempt, LAMP’s Dion Williams reached in to force a jump ball but the possession arrow favored Dadeville. Young then made a near-steal underneath the Dadeville basket but was out of bounds.

With 2.3 seconds remaining, Wilkerson’s final shot was blocked by, who else, Young.

Mayhem ensued as LAMP students and fans rushed the court to celebrate the school’s first berth in the regional.

"When Bryan hit that shot, it sounded like a jet taking off with the Lee gym having that metal ceiling," Norris said. "It was such a roar. When he made his free throw, another roar erupted. It was a special night.

"I kept encouraging them that you have to want to (do what it takes). We didn’t play good defense most of the night. We let a team that averages 60 points score 80. But when you win despite not playing your best and learn those lessons, that’s the sign of a pretty good team."

Young’s free throw turned out to be the game winner but he admitted it wasn’t the most pretty shot he had taken. The shot banged against the backboard but had the right angle to fall through the hoop.

"I have been working on my free throws a lot because I have been shooting so hard," he said. "I tried to stay within myself. But my adrenalin was up and I still shot too hard. Luckily, it was on target."

It wasn’t the first time Young had the game-winning shot. Two weeks earlier, he hit the game winner against Alabama Christian Academy. In another game, he hit a key shot late to propel the Tigers to a victory against rival Brewbaker Tech.

"We’ve got the great scorers like Alec and Gabe (Brake) who will score 20-25 points per game but Bryan has a knack for coming up with big plays," Norris said. "All of the guys are why we are in the regional. Let’s not forget the job they did, too."

The Tigers must now come down from the clouds and get ready for what may be one of the toughest regionals in the state regardless of classification.

"This should help us get ready for the next big stage," Young said. "I believe we can beat anyone when we play up to our potential."