By Greg Chrapek
WKTV Contributor
The venerable Godwin Heights gym has seen some thrillers in its long history, but few have produced the drama that the host Wolverines and Lee produced in Wednesday’s district semifinal game.
Trailing by six points with 20 seconds remaining, Godwin tied the game and sent it into overtime where it eventually came away with an 83-80 win.
Godwin Heights senior guard Jakhary Towns turned in a game for the ages as he poured in 47 points to lead the comeback and give himself and his teammates one more game to be played on their home court.
“When we were down by six late in the fourth quarter we were talking in the huddle about getting two more stops,” Towns said. “We had a lot of energy left and we knew if we could get two more big stops, we could do it.”
Godwin’s comeback hopes received a big shot of adrenaline with 17 seconds left in the game when Towns stepped back and drained a three-point shot that cut the Lee lead in half. After a turnover by the Legends, Godwin regained the ball and Towns cut the margin to 69-67 after splitting a pair of free throws with 16 seconds remaining in the game.
Off to overtime at 69-all
On the ensuring inbounds play, the Godwin defense forced the second turnover it needed with 13 seconds left on the clock. Three seconds later Godwin tied the game when Towns drew a foul and connected on both free throws to tie the game at 69-69.
Lee, however, was determined to retake the lead. The Legends quickly moved the ball down the floor, but missed a pair of shots that would’ve won the game in the final seconds of regulation.
“That was crazy,” said Godwin Heights Coach Tyler Whittemore. “I told the guys we needed to execute on offense and force a couple of turnovers. I told the guys whatever happens we have to stay together and that’s what we did. Everybody came through and did their jobs.”
As thrilling as the final seconds of the game were, the four-minute overtime session provided even more thrills. The two teams combined for 25 points in overtime. Like regulation, the overtime had plenty of lead changes as the two teams exchanged the lead six times.
Up 75-74 with 1:36 remaining in overtime, Marc Whitfield drained a pair of free throws putting the Legends up 77-74.
Godwin Heights cut the lead to 77-76 with 1:25 remaining when Towns scored. The next basket came with 23 seconds left when Towns again delivered from long range putting the Wolverines up 79-77.
Lee split a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left to cut the margin to 79-78. With 10 seconds remaining Towns proved to be money at the free-throw line by draining two free throws to up the Godwin lead to 81-78.
Lee battled to the end and with 1.5 seconds remining in the game Whitfield scored on a drive to the hoop cutting the margin to one point before Godwin ended the game with Jaylen Martin hitting a pair of free throws with 0.4 seconds remaining.
“When we were down by six points, we still knew we could come back,” Martin said. “It was not just a one-man effort. We all had to produce if we were going to come back and win this game.”
Towns, who scored a career-high 47 points, delivered five three-point baskets during the game along with scoring on numerous drives to the hoop.
“It feels great,” Towns said. “I’ve never been to a district final during my four years of high school. To have a game like this on my home court is special.”
Along with the 47 points from Towns, Godwin received 12 points from Damarie Thompson, eight from Jamarion Collins and seven from Tre’Vonte Buckley.
“Jaylen Martin was a big, big part of this win,” Whittemore said. “He has just dug in and gotten better all season. He played some great defense tonight.”
With the win, Godwin Heights improved to 14-7 for the season and will host Unity Christian for the district championship Friday after Unity defeated Grand Rapids Catholic Central 57-55 in the other semifinal game.
Lee finishes exceptional season with big turnaround
Lee finished the season with a 19-2 record and first place in the Alliance League at 8-0.
“This team really laid the foundation for our program going forward,” said Lee Coach Dominic Shannon. “Every one of our players left everything they had on the court. I’m so proud of our players and so proud of our coaching staff.
“We won only five games last year so to go 19-2 this year is a big turnaround. We also became the first Lee team in 43 years to win a conference championship.”
Whitfield scores 27
Junior Marc Whitfield led Lee with 27 points, followed by Clarence Lewis, 18; Joe Russau, 16; Ny’Zhem Marshall, 10 and Troy Fox, nine.
“You have to salute their senior guard Jakhary Towns,” Shannon said. “He had a great game tonight. We knew he was one of the keys. We put our best defender, Clarence Lewis, on him and he made it hard on him. He just was hitting shot after shot. They played well. You have to give them credit.”
