The last shot wasn’t supposed to go to Colt Fowler.
With 11 seconds to go, Byrnes and Dorman were tied at 72. The Rebels had the ball out of the timeout. Head coach Layne Fowler drew up a play for a chance to win, a play where Colt would get downhill and pass it off to a teammate.
As soon as the huddle broke, senior Sukhi Singh walked over to Fowler, his backcourt partner, and told him something different.
“He said, ‘Colt, don’t swing that ball. It’s all you.’” Colt recalled after the game.
“I said, 'Alright, I got you.'”
He sure did.
Colt dribbled the ball down the right side of the court, got to the three-point line before cutting it back, drifted to the top of the perimeter, and pulled up for a three-pointer. He got a Dorman defender to jump at him and was undercut coming down. Three free throws.
The junior superstar PG hit two of them to seal the win — and the season sweep over rival Dorman for Byrnes.
“It’s a clutch gene,” said Layne. “I don’t think you can say that every kid has it. But I’ve seen that Colt has it.”
For the second year in a row at Dorman, Colt scored the game-winning points against the Cavaliers with less than three seconds on the clock. Last year, it was a corner three. This year, Dorman was prepared and didn’t let Colt get to that favored spot.
He got it done anyway. The win gave Byrnes a 20-4 record on the year and a 9-1 mark in region play. It also gave the Rebels their fifth win in six games against Dorman.
“This is the best rivalry in the state of South Carolina,” said Colt. “I respect those guys over there. Some of my boys are on that team. We’re enemies on the court, and we know that. But at the end of the day, it’s all love there. It’s definitely a fun rivalry.”
Colt finished with 24 points, 13 assists, and nine rebounds on the evening. Singh poured in 20 points, but once again, freshman Kellen Leverett was the unsung hero against Dorman.
When the two teams first met earlier in the season, Leverett had a career-high 17 points in Byrnes’ 68-55 win. This time around, he went for 13 big points on an efficient 5-6 shooting.
Leverett grew up watching Byrnes and Dorman battle it out on the court. He understands exactly what the rivalry means.
“I was a fan at these games all the time as a kid,” said Leverett. “I know how important this rivalry is and what it means. It’s easy to get ready for this one.”
Byrnes will finish the regular season with three games next week: Wade Hampton at home, Boiling Springs on the road, and Riverside at home.
There’s a high chance the season finale vs. Riverside could be for the 5-A Region 2 title, as both teams currently boast a 10-1 region record. Riverside knocked off the Rebels, 84-72, in the first meeting of the season.
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