Doyline Panthers win at the buzzer

Down by as many as 13 points in the final quarter of play, Doyline dug deep on their home court to pull off a stunning 58-57 come from behind victory, capped by a Desmond Jackson three pointer that hit nothing but net as the buzzer sounded to end the game.

For about 100 Doyline fans, it was a special night, and one that displayed everything that’s great about high school basketball.

“Other than church, that was the best place you could’ve been last night,” Doyline head coach Michael Normand said. “I’m so proud of these boys. I’ve said all year how young we are. Three weeks ago we’d have hung our head when we got down like that. Tonight we fought back and got it done.”

Doyline trailed the entire night to a Haynesville team who showed some grit of their own, knocking down big shots every time the Panthers would try to make a run.

A few fans began moving towards the exit when Haynesville pushed their lead to 11 points with about four minutes left in the game.

That’s when Doyline started using some full court pressure to fluster Haynesville into some turnovers and swing the momentum. Big time shots from Desmond Jackson and Tyreck Wilson got Doyline back in the game in the final minute, and with 7.7 seconds remaining, Haynesville was penalized for stepping over the line on a free throw attempt. That miscue gave the Panthers the ball down 57-55.

“We got the ball in to Tyreck Wilson,” Normand said. “He fumbled with it for a second which got Haynesville out of their press lanes because they went for the loose ball.

“I had snuck Desmond Jackson, who is really one of our best three point shooters, back into the corner. Tyreck did a good job penetrating and then finding him, and of course Desmond did a good job of knocking it down.”

It’s a confidence building win for a young Doyline team. Next up for these cardiac kids is another tournament game on their homecourt.

“The one thing I’ve learned being at Doyline for seven or eight years is that we can play with anyone in our own gym,” Normand said. “It doesn’t matter who’s out there. Tonight, I’m just proud of my kids.”

Tyreck Wilson led the Panthers in scoring with 17 points, followed closely by Xavieon Jackson with 17. Jatavion Jackson added 12 points and Desmond Jackson finished with 10 points and the game-winner.