La Lumiere Escapes Findlay Prep's Crazy Comeback To Advance At DICK'S Nationals

NEW YORK — The focus and pressure rested on the shoulders of Tony Goodwin II as he stepped to the foul line in the closing seconds Friday night. The Findlay Prep (NV) guard had entered the game for the first time moments earlier as an offense-defense chess piece, yet found himself with a chance to be the unsung hero in an unlikely comeback.

Nobody expected Goodwin to be in this position. Heck, there weren’t many inside the Christ The King High School gym who thought the Pilots would be in it after trailing by double digits to La Lumiere School (IN) midway through the fourth quarter. 

However, here they were, down by one with a little over five seconds remaining in the DICK’S Sporting Goods High School Nationals semifinals.

The first free throw, like many in the game for Findlay Prep, was off target.

Suddenly, the place got tense. 

Goodwin received some motivation from McDonald’s All American PJ Washington before taking a deep breath and stepping back up to the line.

Same result.

There was even a chance to win it at the buzzer, especially after Lakers reserve guard Grant Beucler missed his second attempt, but point guard Justin Roberts didn’t get the shot off.

Game over. Season done.

No. 1 La Lumiere School 54, No. 4 Findlay Prep 52.

The scene after was quite the contrast, as one could imagine. There was a deep breath and celebration for one and complete heartache for the other.

The Pilots had chances, too. They held a 25-20 halftime lead. They missed 21 free throws (14 for 35), including seven in the fourth quarter during the comeback.

All for naught.

The Lakers, who outscored the Pilots 24-7 in the third quarter, held on to advance to Saturday’s title game against No. 3 seed Montverde Academy (FL). Brian Bowen led the way with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Jaren Jackson Jr. added 11 and seven boards.

Washington had 13 points and Lamine Diane posted 10 for Findlay Prep.

Now, La Lumiere is back where it wanted to be all along — the championship game — and has its shot at redemption after avoiding the upset.

No. 3 MONTVERDE ACADEMY (FL) 72, No. 7 GREENSBORO DAY (NC) 45

Although there weren’t the dramatics of the nightcap, the other semifinal saw one of high school’s biggest stars go absolutely crazy.

After RJ Barrett stuffed the stat sheet in the quarterfinals, the Montverde Academy guard and 2019 Flo40 No. 1 player came back to drop 21 of his game-high 26 points in the first half on a tough Greensboro Day School defense to get to the finals.

The Eagles also got 12 points and nine rebounds from Rechon Black, 11 points from Sandro Mamukelashvili, and 10 points and six assists from Marcus Carr.

Greensboro Day saw its successful season come to an end and got 10 points each from JP Moorman and Solomon Smith.