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The Vincent Yellow Jackets fell to Aliceville 42-40 in the Class 2A Sweet 16 on Monday, Feb. 20, missing a 3-pointer from near mid-court as the buzzer sounded. (Reporter photo/Alec Etheredge)

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Managing Editor

BIRMINGHAM – The Vincent Yellow Jackets never quit in their Sweet 16 matchup against Aliceville inside Bill Harris Arena on Monday, Feb. 20, which led to a chance of keeping their season alive at the buzzer.

After Aliceville missed two consecutive free throws with four seconds to play, TyQun Goodman came down with the rebound for Vincent and pushed it ahead to Tray Youngblood.

With a streaking Keetlyn Pelmer running up the floor, time was short, which forced Youngblood to heave up a shot from near mid-court that was too strong and bounced off the backboard and to the floor as the buzzer sounded on a 42-40 loss for the Yellow Jackets.

The loss prevented Vincent from reaching the Elite Eight and getting another shot at Cornerstone, but the Yellow Jackets also showed perseverance in what was a game of momentum swings.

Vincent trailed for the majority of the game, including by as many as seven in the third quarter, but the Jackets stormed back late in the third quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers from Blake Allums and Skyler McCrimon.

Those two shots evened the score at 30-30 going to the final quarter.

Then, with the shift in momentum, the Jackets took a 32-30 lead, their first since 8-6 in the opening quarter, on a McCrimon layup to start the final quarter off a nice feed from Goodman.

Up by two, the Jackets missed two free throws shortly after that would have given them a four-point lead early in the final quarter and Aliceville made them pay.

They responded with a basket and a 3-pointer for a quick 5-0 to regain the lead, and Vincent was forced to play comeback again over the final four minutes of the fourth quarter.

Goodman did his best in the second half to keep the Yellow Jackets in it and made two free throws shortly after to bring Vincent to within one.

But offensive rebounds were costly for Vincent all game, and they were costly down the stretch.

Alicville regained a three-point advantage on an offensive put back and then, after Vincent missed an open layup at the rim, Aliceville sprinted the other way for an easy layup to make it 39-34 with 2:29 left.

Allums responded with two key free throws to make it a three-point game once again.

Aliceville, however, got another offensive rebound on the ensuing possession and drained two free throws shortly after.

But, Aliceville struggled to close the game out from the free throw line, which kept Vincent in the game.

After Allums missed a 3-pointer from the corner, Aliceville then missed the front end of a one-and-one, which led to a Youngblood layup to make it 41-38 with 12.2 seconds to play.

Aliceville then went 1-2 from the line on the next possession, while Vincent followed with a layup from Allums to make it 42-40 with 5.2 seconds remaining.

Aliceville earned another trip to the line, but after two misses in the clutch, Goodman’s rebound gave Vincent one last chance, but time wasn’t on the Jackets’ side to get an easy look on the breakaway, leading to the long heave that ended the game.

Vincent did start fast in the opening quarter, jumping out to an 8-4 lead against the No. 7 team in Class 2A thanks to Allums hitting two deep threes.

Aliceville, however, responded with a 7-0 run to end the quarter, taking an 11-8 lead into the second quarter.

The second quarter was just as back-and-forth as the rest of the game with the two trading baskets, but offensive rebounds early allowed Aliceville to get second chance points that eventually gave them a 21-18 lead at the half.

The lead blossomed to as many as seven twice in the third quarter and was at six late in the third quarter before those two back-to-back threes made it a game going to the final quarter.

Ultimately, however, it was Aliceville that was able to gain the momentum in the second half of the final quarter to create the slight separation that made the difference.

Allums led Vincent in his final game with the Yellow Jackets, totaling 16 points on 5-10 shooting. He made four 3-pointers and was 2-2 from the free throw line. Goodman finished with nine rebounds to lead Vincent, while he also finished in double figures with 10 points.

Vincent got six from Youngblood, three each from McCrimon and Phoenix Maxwell and two from Pelmer. Vincent finished the season 20-8 overall, while Aliceville improved to 22-1 on the season.

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