Basketball: Bledson's Buzzer-beater caps thrilling GHS sweep over Apalachee <b> (VIDEO) </b>

GAINESVILLE -- After a costly win over East Hall on Saturday, no one was really sure what was in store for Gainesville Tuesday taking on Region 8A-AAAAA rival Apalachee with a possible No. 1 seed on the line.<br /> <br /> The Red Elephants came into the game without leading scorer D'Marcus Simonds (suspension) and junior sharp-shooter Sam Carpenter (injury) and facing the daunting task of trying to hold down Wildcats star Kamal Baldwin.<br /> <br /> The Red Elephants freshman corps showed they may not have much to worry about moving forward.<br /> <br /> Freshman K.J. Buffen provided a huge block in the final seconds and fellow freshman Xavier Bledson rolled in a running jumper at the buzzer to lift Gainesville to a thrilling 66-65 win at the Gainesville gym.<br /> <br /> Buffen's block kept the game a one-possession contest and Bledson's shot was pure improvisation on a play that began with just 3.6 seconds left in the game.<br /> <br /> "It was supposed to go to (freshman) Bailey (Minor) but it came to me instead and I just made a play," Bledson said. "I thought I had missed it at first then it just kind of rolled in."<br /> <br /> The win secured the top seed from 8A-AAAAA for Gainesville (22-2, 11-1 Region 8A-AAAAA) which plays host to Winder-Barrow on Friday in its regular season finale. It was the final regular season game for Apalachee (17-7, 9-4). The Wildcats had beaten Gainesville 87-83 in their first meeting last month.<br /> <br /> The shot capped a furious rally in the final three minutes that had the Red Elephants trailing 65-58 after the Wildcats had used a 10-2 run to erase a 56-55 Gainesville lead, its first since 12-11 in the first quarter.<br /> <br /> Gainesville coach Benjie Wood said he was not surprised that his young group was able to answer the challenge.<br /> <br /> "Every time we made a run, Apalachee answered," Wood said. "But our guys just kept fighting and were able to get back in the game. K.J. and Bailey have been playing well most of the season and Xavier has been coming on of late. <br /> <br /> "K.J.'s block gave us a chance. Without that we may not be able to pull it off. We told (Xavier) it was going to be his time to step up with Sam out. He made a great play."<br /> <br /> More importantly than the victory, however, may be the belief that they can win big games under adversity.<br /> <br /> "We knew it would be tough without D'Marcus but they also knew they would need to step up," Wood said. "They had confidence but I think this should give them that extra confidence for the rest of the season. I couldn't be more proud of them for how they hung in there."<br /> <br /> Gainesville trailed most of the game after a back-and-forth first quarter. The Red Elephants trailed 39-29 at halftime but got back in the game behind senior Luke Maddox, who hit a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter and sparked a 10-5 finish to the period to pull within 50-47.<br /> <br /> Bledson drained a long 3-pointer to cut the lead to 55-54 early in the fourth quarter and then provided the assist on a Messiah Dorsey layup for a 56-55 lead, their first since the first quarter, on their next possession.<br /> <br /> But Apalachee answered with an 8-0 run, capped by a Baldwin 3-pointer, for a 63-56 lead with 3:34 left. Gainesville chipped away in the final two minutes and got within 65-64 on a stick-back basket by senior Jermaine Fleming with 32 seconds left.<br /> <br /> Apalachee's Ricky Wonzon missed the front-end of a one-and-one setting up the final 14 seconds. The game nearly ended for the Red Elephants on an errant pass that was tipped at the final moment by an Apalachee player with 3.6 seconds left.<br /> <br /> The first quarter was fast-and-furious, as both teams came out firing. The two teams traded the lead five times to go with six ties in the period.<br /> <br /> They combined to hit 5 of their first 6 3-pointers. Baldwin opened the game with a 3-pointer for the Wildcats and Bledson answered for Gainesville to tie the contest. Minor scored six consecutive points for the Red Elephants to give them a 9-7 lead and Apalachee used a 9-2 run to grab an 18-12 lead.<br /> <br /> Gainesville answered back with a 6-0 run to tie the game at 18 but the Wildcats' Ricky Wonzon hit two 3-pointers in an 8-3 spurt to close out the period for a 26-21 lead.<br /> <br /> The Red Elephants could not get closer than 31-28 after another Minor basket and Apalachee closed out the first half with an 8-1 run for a 39-29 halftime lead.<br /> <br /> Apalachee finished the first half 6-of-12 on 3-pointers while Gainesville was just 3-for-7 on 3-pointers.<br /> <br /> Maddox paced Gainesville with 17 points and five assists. Dorsey and Minor each had 14 points and Bledson finished with 13 points, including three 3-pointers, for the Red Elephants.<br /> <br /> Baldwin had a game-high 23 points for Apalachee. Kent Knowles added 14 points and six assists and Wonzon had 11 points for the Wildcats.<br /> <br /> <br /> <b>GAINESVILLE GIRLS 46<br /> APALACHEE 25</b><br /> <br /> Gainesville used an 18-1 run in the second half to blow open a close game to get the Region 8A-AAAAA victory.<br /> <br /> Apalachee had cut a 25-13 lead to 26-20 early in the third quarter but the Lady Red Elephants (17-7, 9-3 Region 8A-AAAAA) forced four straight turnovers and then exploded to pull away for a 44-21 lead midway through the fourth quarter.<br /> <br /> Taylor Hawks led nine Gainesville scorers with 13 points. Breana Fair had 10 points for the Lady Red Elephants. <br /> <br /> Apalachee (4-21, 3-10) scored first on a basket moments into the game but the Lady Red Elephants responded with two first quarter runs to take control.<br /> <br /> Gainesville used an 8-0 run powered by on basket and an assist from Fair, and Fair started a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer to the Lady Red Elephants a 15-4 lead.<br /> <br /> The Lady Wildcats used a 7-3 run to pull within 18-11 but Gainesville would take a 21-13 lead into halftime.<br /> <br /> Seven different players scored for Gainesville in the first half and the Lady Red Elephants dished out four assists on six field goals. The Lady Red Elephants also forced five Apalachee turnovers in the first 16 minutes.<br /> <br /> Kiara Hooks led Apalachee with 14 points.<br /> <br /> Gainesville is 12-2 in its last 14 games and has allowed 43 or fewer points in 13 game during that stretch.