MACON, GA -- Rutland point guard Jaylon Tyson patiently watched the clock from the top of the key and then saw the moment to attack the rim. With less than five seconds on the clock in a tie game, the junior floor general drew three Central defenders, leaving teammate Dallas Smith wide open for the game-winning lay-up with 2.6 seconds left to play.

The bucket gave Rutland a 75-73 win in a great back-and-forth game in front of a standing-room only crowd on Saturday in middle Georgia.  

It was one of those games that had to come down to the final bucket. That was the tone throughout the fourth quarter. Both teams traded buckets after the first three quarters saw each team gain as high as a 10-point lead.

"I was just watching the seconds drop off because coach told us to wait for that last shot. I had confidence that I was going to get a shot off or get a pass to give us a bucket," Tyson said. "I was just looking around and saw that I could dish it off and get it to my player."

He found his player in Smith, who took the easy dump pass and softly laid it off the glass for the eventual game-winner.

"He drove, I cut and all of the players went to him and that left me open. He gave me the ball and all I had to do was just finish," Smith said.

"Our guards have been our generals on the floor all year," Rutland head coach Jamal Christian said. "We've had to have them ready to play. With all of the adversities that have come to our team, we've had to sit some kids out. Sit somebody here. When you are there, you have to play. Those guys thrive in playing in the big-time moments."

Rutland, an unselfish and deep team, looked to several players in the second half to drum up production. Future University of Georgia football player Shakenneth Williams led Rutland with 16 points while Junior Ty'lik Evans hit two huge three-pointers in the fourth quarter and made several key defensive plays to tilt the momentum back to the home team.

“Our first key to victory was let (Friday night's loss to Veterans) night go,” Christian said. “And the next thing was the passion and not the poison. We talked about them having the passion for the game and for basketball. Don’t poison it by doing the little things that are gonna hurt us.” 

Rutland improves to 14-3 on the season while Central dropped to 14-4 on the year.