CORBIN — Williamsburg could have folded plenty of times during their matchup on Thursday against Richmond Model.
The Yellow Jackets trailed throughout the contest the contest before rallying to force overtime while eventually winning thanks to a last-second shot from Reece Hatcher.
With the game tied at 51 apiece, Hatcher drove through the lane, and passed two Patriot defenders to record the win for Williamsburg (7-1).
“Really good win for our squad, tonight,” Williamsburg coach Anthony Hibbard said. “So proud of our guys’ fight and perseverance. We found ourselves down 18 points early in the game, and crawled all the way back to force overtime against a good squad. We made just enough plays down the stretch to end it.
“At the end of overtime, Conner Saylor knocked the ball loose and Reece Hatcher picked it up and made a great play to lay it in at the horn,” he added. “We just have to continue to stay the course and focus on improving every possession. We play with great effort and hustle, we just need to focus on our execution. We are confident it will get better as we gain more experience. Back at it tomorrow.”
The Yellow Jackets trailed 26-11 at the end of the first quarter before cutting their deficit to 29-23 at halftime.
They continued to fight in the second half, and hit two free throws with 1:09 in regulation to take a 47-46 lead. Model did just enough to score a basket in the final minute of regulation while Williamsburg added a free throw to force overtime.
Andrew Smith was named Player of the Game and led the Yellow Jackets with 13 points while Cooper Prewitt added 11 points. Conner Saylor and Nate Goodin scored eight points apiece while Hatcher added six points.
