Staff Report
LaFAYETTE, Ga. -- Resilient Coosa rallied from 14 points down in the final period to capture the boys' championship of the Comcast Christmas Tournament at LaFayette on Friday night. The Eagles defeated the hosts in two overtimes, 63-61.
Jordan Teems' contested 3-pointer at the second overtime buzzer fell short for the Ramblers, giving the 10-1 Eagles their second comeback of more than 10 points in the tournament's three games. Teems topped LaFayette (9-2) with 22 points, and his basket leading off the final period gave the Ramblers a 46-32 lead.
The Eagles, who rallied from 12 points down against Ridgeland in their tournament opener, used an aggressive, trapping full-court press to get back into the game, forcing numerous turnovers and limiting the Ramblers to eight fourth-period points.
Tied at 61 in the second overtime, Kaleb Moore hit a driving layup with six seconds left for the game-winner. Slade Shumate, the tournament most valuable player, and Tyler Bradley topped Coosa with 22 points each, with Moore adding 12. Lance Estus had 15 points and a game-high 19 rebounds for the Ramblers.
Model won the girls' championship for the second consecutive season with a 53-34 victory over Sonoraville as Tamia Reynolds had 17 points and tournament MVP Karlee Akin added 12.
The Dalton boys downed Sonoraville 66-56 and the Coosa girls edged LaFayette 56-55 in the third-place games.