By JIM STEELE
mckenzierebels.com

ATWOOD - McKenzie trailed by four points at the half, 15 points in the third quarter and had most of its starters in foul trouble at West Carroll Wednesday night.

Two Rebel starters fouled out while West Carroll held a lead late in the game.

Sounds like a War Eagle rout, right?

Not Wednesday night. Rebel senior Derek Carr's three-pointer at the buzzer lifted McKenzie to a stunning 85-82 road victory over the War Eagles.

Carr was clearly thrilled, as were the rest of the Rebels, after hitting the triple.

"I told Shabree (Payne, senior teammate), 'Watch this,' then I shot it," said Carr. "I knew it was in when I shot it."

Carr said the Rebels were overloading the right side: "I was looking for Shabree in the corner so he could grab it and go to the hole, but it wasn't there, so I took the shot."

As a result, the Rebels have the inside track to the regular-season District 13A championship.

Yarbrough had an idea his team could get back in it the way West Carroll was throwing up threes.

"They came down and kept shooting three-pointers. We went through a dry spell, but I knew that if we pounded it inside, we could get back in it," the coach said. "We couldn't outgun them, so we kept isolating people down low."

It worked, the post played great. More on that later.

McKenzie went on the attack in the final frame, hitting eight of 18 shots, including five second-chance boards. West Carroll was a chilly 3-12 in the final frame and managed as many rebounds as McKenzie did offensive rebounds. McKenzie went into the fourth trailing by five, 69-64 and lost two starters, senior Josh Brown and junior Tyler Holt, to fouls while trailing. Thomas Greer hit a triple with 4:11 left and the War Eagles led by three, 77-74. That's when some understudies stepped up. Zach Hinson hit a huge bucket with 4:05 to play to spark a flurry that propelled back in the lead, 80-77. Payne made a nice move to the rack with 1:16 to knot the score at 82. With :32 to play, the Rebels had a chance at the line, but couldn't convert. Six seconds later, Hunter Herrin allowed Greer to run over him. The charging call meant Greer would have a seat and the Rebels would have the ball for the last shot.

McKenzie worked it down to 3.2 seconds when the Yarbrough called time out.

"I asked who wanted the ball and Carr said he did," the coach said. "With some of our players on the bench, some of our inbound plays weren't an option."

But the coach said the plan was to get Carr the ball up top and then look for Payne if he was double-teamed.

"Carr said he wanted it and that told me a lot," Yarbrough said. "He made a big-time shot."

The Rebels went to work in the post. Herrin had career bests in scoring and rebounds as he was often misplaced by West Carroll defenders. He finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Holt was a physical force inside, scoring 18 points and grabbing nine boards. McKenzie outrebounded West Carroll 12-5 in the fourth. The War Eagles turned the ball over 10 times in the final frame, 15 for the game. Carr and Payne combnied for 23 points apiece. It was a big offensive night for the Rebels.

But Yarbrough was pleased with how the post played.

"Our guys inside really stepped up tonight," Yarbrough said. "Hunter had a great game tonight and so did Holt. We needed that."

The Rebels and War Eagles were on a fast pace. The score after one was 25-22 in McKenzie's favor. The Rebels were dead-eye, too. They were 11-15 shooting as the pace was up and down. Clint McClain served notice he was going to be a handful early, nailing one of three first-quarter triples. Carr did the same, banging away with a trio of his own. But Herrin was able to sneak into the block for eight points in the first frame. Soon, the War Eagles had to account for him, but a time or two, the junior did manage to get lost long enough to make them pay.

West Carroll appeared poised to put the game away in the second frame. It slowly put a bit of distance between themselves and the Rebs. Carr and Payne hit triples, while Holt powered away for eight points in the post. Herrin drifted in the paint for two more points. But the War Eagles cranked away for two more triples and led 52-48 at the half.

The War Eagles crafted an 11-2 run for a 63-50 lead. McClain hit a triple and two more buckets for a 67-52 advantage, which was matched moments later, 69-54. In the final 4:11 of the third, the Rebels went on a 10-2 run. Herrin had a hoop inside and converted on a three-point play. Carr rang the bell on the front and back side of Herrin's baskets and the Rebels had cut the lead to five, 69-64 heading into the fourth.

The Rebels are 10-10 overall and 9-2 in District 13A and have a chance to wrap up the crown outright if Clarksburg beats West Carroll Thursday night. If the War Eagles win, three teams will be tied with two losses. The Rebels host Huntingdon 6:30 Thursday night for the season finale.