Man of Steele

When the moment got tight in Sparta Monday night, senior Mason Steele lived up to his name. Showing nerves of steel, he quite literally stole a win from Smith County.

Steele’s last-second heroics delivered a 62-61 victory over the Owls, a finish that wasn’t settled until the senior completely took over the final 10 seconds.

Taylor Wilmore put Smith County ahead when he powered in a layup through contact with 20.6 seconds left, but his missed and-1 free throw left the door open. Sparta coach Eric Mitchell used his last timeout with 10.2 ticks remaining to draw up the winner.

Early looks suggested Tucker Pinion - who scored all 16 of his points in the first half - was the first option, but the Owls smothered him. That left Steele to make something happen. His initial fadeaway missed, yet when bodies crashed for the rebound, Steele tore the ball away from Morgan Sinclair with under four seconds left and reset from the left baseline.

This time he didn’t miss. The 15-footer dropped clean, the Row Sewell Gym crowd exploded and Smith County’s attempt to call timeout came too late. Warriors rushed the floor as Steele soaked in a finish he won’t forget.

Steele scored all 16 of his points in the second half, including the buzzer beater that sealed the win. Cole Sims led the Warriors with 18 points before fouling out on Wilmore’s go-ahead layup in the final 30 seconds.

Sims had already set the tone for a frantic final period by drilling a buzzer-beating 3 to end the third and give Sparta a 47-45 lead. Nobody knew then that another buzzer beater was still coming as the Warriors improved to 5-1.

The fourth quarter featured 10 lead changes, five in the final 2:22. Steele erased a four-point Smith County lead with back-to-back triples from the left wing, but the Owls briefly reclaimed control at 59-58. Lucas Smith countered with a euro-step finish at the 1:02 mark, setting up the seesaw ending.

White County has now won three games in a row, but Monday's was the team's first victory of the year that came down to the final seconds. The Warriors can keep its momentum rolling tonight, Dec. 9, when it travels to DeKalb County. The Warriors won the first meeting between the teams 58-44 at home on Nov. 24. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. in Smithville.