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South Miami Loses Overtime Heartbreaker, Fall In 8A Semifinals

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LAKELAND – Trailing by one point with five seconds left in overtime of the Class 8A state semifinals, South Miami got exactly what it wanted in that situation – the ball in the hands of junior star Ezacaras Dawson.

Dawson took an inbound pass near midcourt and dashed towards the basket. But it appeared he took some contact from a defender and lost control of the ball, he gained it back but had to throw up a desperation heave that fell short.

Despite 32 points from Dawson, South Miami fell to Sarasota Riverview 64-63 in overtime Friday in The Lakeland Center.

Riverview will face Coral Springs Saturday night in the Class 8A state championship game at 7 p.m.

Cobras head coach Robert Doctor said that he was confident in Dawson as well as in his team when the game went into overtime.

"No doubt, the ball was going to be in Zach's hands," Doctor said. "All year long, we've put the ball in his hands and he delivered – he either made the shot or made the play that got us the win. We were going to put the ball in our best players' hands and give him an opportunity to score."

"Zach lost the ball – from the foul – at midcourt…and he couldn't get a shot off. I mean, my kids couldn't have played better. They played hard and they did everything we could've asked them to today."

"I just knew we were going to win the game when it went into overtime," added Doctor, whose team was playing in its sixth overtime game of the season. "We just fell short this time."

South Miami trailed 64-61 with 19 seconds left to play and Dawson drew a foul while attempting a three-pointer but made just two out of three free throws. The Rams tried to run time off the clock, but they turned it over and gave it back to the Cobras with five seconds left.

Dawson also said he was hit on the last play.

"I saw an opening and I tried to take it," Dawson said. "The [Riverview player] hit me and I lost the ball. By the time I got back to it, I couldn't get a good shot."

It was Dawson that got the Cobras to overtime. With his team down 59-57 and just over a minute on the clock, Dawson weaved his way through Rams defenders for a tough layup. Riverview tried to win it in regulation, but its last-second three-pointer was partially blocked by Miguel Arnold.

Arnold was the only other South Miami player to score in double figures Friday – totaling 15 points (3 of 4 from three-point range) to go along with four rebounds. Ishmael Smith added seven points, but no other player had more than three.

Riverview had three players score in double figures. Brion Whitley led with 24, D.J. Bryant had 17 and A.J. Caldwell had 16 – including a three-point play during overtime that gave the Rams a 62-59 lead.

The Cobras jumped out to an 8-3 lead early in the first quarter and held a 34-27 lead at halftime thanks to closing the quarter on an 8-0 run. Riverview responded in the third quarter with a 10-1 of its own and eventually took a 44-41 lead over South Miami into the fourth quarter.

"Basketball is a game of runs," Doctor said. "We knew they'd respond and fight, just like we responded and fought. I still felt like we had our chances to win, though."

South Miami, which was making its third appearance in the 8A final four in four years, has just three seniors on its roster and played just about the entire season without the services of 6-foot-8 star junior Latrvian Glover – who was out with a leg injury.

"I think some good came out of this season," Doctor began. "We played against some good teams this season and while we lost some of those games – we were right there. And I think it showed them that they can play without [Latravian]. Now we'll get back to work to hone our strengths and build up our weaknesses."

Box Score

Class 8A state semifinals: Sarasota Riverview 64, South Miami 63 (OT) – SM (22-9): Dawson 32, Arnold 15, Davis 7, Small 3, Stewart 2, Castro 2, Ferguson 2. SRV: Whitley 24, Bryant 17, A. Caldwell 16, Fenn 3, Wright 2, D. Caldwell 2. Halftime: SM 34-27. Three-pointers: Arnold 3, Bryant 3, Dawson 2, A. Caldwell 2. Fouled out: Stewart, D. Caldwell. Technicals: None.

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