Brown free throws seal Wheeler's championship fate
Down one, with the best player in the state on the free throw line and a chance to win the state championship.
That’s the situation that every kid dreams of shooting in their backyard.
That’s also the situation that Wheeler and Jaylen Brown found themselves in tonight for the AAAAAA championship against Pebblebrook.
The two star-studded teams went back and forth throughout the whole game, exchanging leads multiple times.
Both teams also got big plays from their star players.
Pebblebrook got a huge performance from UGA signee Derek Ogbeide, who owned the paint and had 14 points and 22 rebounds. Clemson signee Ty Hudson also added 19 points and had some important buckets down the stretch.
Wheeler got 22 points from their stud Jaylen Brown and Tennessee-bound guard Shembari Phillips scored 17.
Behind the efforts of their stars, the two teams found themselves knotted at 57 in the final seconds.
Pebblebrook guard Ty Hudson found his backcourt mate Jared Harper after his defender fell down, and Harper was fouled and went to the line with 7.8 seconds.
Harper converted on one of two free throws, and Wheeler advanced the ball to halfcourt and called a timeout with 4 seconds.
Wheeler inbounded the ball to Jaylen Brown, who drove the ball and was fouled with .5 seconds left on the clock.
With the state championship on the line, Brown calmly walked to the free throw line and knocked down both free throws to give Wheeler the win.
The state title is the sixth in Wheeler’s history and third since 2005.
Jaylen Brown's game winning FTs to end his high school career as a state champ! pic.twitter.com/l98YpPE934
— Jalen Butler (@jalenbutler) March 8, 2015