BUFORD, Ga. — Twice, Buford coach Benjie Wood seemed to direct some ire down the bench toward Chase Robinson. But not because of any horrendous mistakes the junior guard was making.
Oh, contraire.
“He’s not afraid of the moment. My biggest thing is that in those moments, just be you,” Wood said. “Just staying within yourself. We just wanted him to stay within himself.
“With the game on the line, we have no problem with him taking the big shots.”
Apparently not. With the Wolves trailing Mill Creek by three in the fourth quarter, Robinson exploded to score 10 consecutive points, none bigger than a nothing-but-net 3-pointer with 29 seconds left that eventually propelled Buford to a 55-50 win over the Hawks to claim the Region 8-7A title Wednesday night at The Buford Arena.
Until midway through the fourth quarter, Robinson had just one basket. He finished with 13 points to pace the Wolves (20-6).
“With the seconds ticking down, I knew I had the hot hand and just felt the moment. It felt good when it left my hand,” Robinson said of the shot afterward. “Coach just told me to live for the moment. He said he believed in me.”
Buford led 41-33 going into the fourth quarter, but the Hawks (19-8) used an 11-0 run to grab a 46-43 lead following a dunk from Stephen Akwiwu with 3:48 left in the game.
That’s when Robinson got hot, ending his run with the dagger 3-pointer for a 53-50 lead. Mill Creek missed three shots with a chance to tie, and Buford’s Torre Costin sealed with a steal and dish to David Burnett, who converted the fastbreak layup with 12 seconds left.
“I’m super proud of these kids,” Wood said. “These kids have been through a lot. They persevered and showed a lot of toughness.”
The Wolves could not have started worse and ended up any better. Buford went the first 6:33 without a basket and just two free throws, yet trailed just 11-5 after Davis Church drained a long 3-pointer for their first field goal with 1:27 left in the first quarter.
The Hawks’ Aidan Penchion pushed their lead to 13-5 moments later, but Mill Creek would go on its own scoring drought deep into the second quarter.
London Williams converted an offensive rebound into a basket, which ignited a 16-0 Buford run to turn an 8-point deficit into a 21-13 lead midway through the second quarter. A Williams 3-pointer pushed the Buford lead to 24-15, its largest of the half, before Mill Creek responded.
Penchion hit a pair of free throws in the final minute to pull the Hawks within 24-20 by halftime as they held the Wolves scoreless over the final four minutes.
The Hawks stormed out of the half with a 7-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Region 8-7A Player of the Year Trajen Greco for a 27-26 lead. Buford answered with a 10-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers from Brennan Wansley, and they led the rest of the way until a John McIntyre stickback basket gave Mill Creek a 44-43 lead.
From there, Robinson took control.
Burnett finished with 11 points, London Williams had 7, and Wansley and Cameron Kelly had 6 each for the Wolves.
Greco poured in 19 points to pace Mill Creek. Jonathan Taylor had 10 points for the Hawks, and Akwiwu finished with 7.
