CLINTON -- There were more turnovers than baskets Wednesday afternoon in a Class 3A boys state tournament first-round matchup between Glen Rose and Newport.
Then, there was a fantastic finish at Yellowjacket Arena.
Glen Rose went the length of the court in the final 2.6 seconds -- Weatherford to Youngman to Holmes -- with Ahmad Holmes scoring on a right-handed reverse layup as time expired to give the Beavers (17-5) a 32-31 victory.
Newport (17-5) led 20-11 at the outset of the third quarter, and appeared to have scored the winning basket with less than three seconds to play. Christopher Reynolds, who led all scorers with 13 points, came up with an offensive rebound and scored the Greyhounds' second basket of the quarter to take a 31-30 lead.
The clock originally showed 0.9 seconds before Glen Rose called timeout, but it was reset to 2.6 seconds and Glen Rose Coach Devin Jones plotted strategy.
It was a simple plan: Have senior center Andrew Weatherford throw a length-of-court pass to Holmes, and let him make a play.
"We were throwing it deep no matter what," Jones said. "We were going to try to pick a matchup and hope something good happened."
Weatherford said Brayden Youngman ad-libbed in an effort to get into the clear, about 10 feet past the midcourt line.
"We had two guys in the front," Weatherford said, "and I really wasn't looking at them. I was looking for the guys in the back trying to make a move."
Weatherford, an offensive lineman in football, threw a quarterback pass to Youngman, who zigged and zagged to the open spot.
"We didn't really draw it up where he came across," Weatherford said. "He did that on his own. I just led him with it."
Youngman made an over-the-should grab in front of the Glen Rose bench, pivoted and fired a pass to Holmes, who was streaking down the baseline under the basket.
"When we threw it, our No. 2, Brayden Youngman made a crazy good catch," Jones said. "He took a dribble, made a dime of a pass to Ahmad Holmes.
"Ahmad was supposed to get the ball and go. It didn't go exactly as we planned, but it ended up getting to who we wanted it to get to."
Jones was asked whether the play, which included two passes, a dribble and shot, took less than 2.6 seconds.
"It was crazy," Jones said. "I thought he got it off. We had 2.6 seconds left. That's a lot of time."
Glen Rose, a No. 3 seed, moves on to Friday's 1 p.m. quarterfinal against Lamar.
Cohen Carter led Glen Rose with 10 points, including a three-point basket with 1:11 to play that gave Glen Rose the lead at 30-29, its first advantage since the game's opening minutes.
For the longest time, Glen Rose's chances of advancing were about as low as the offensive efficiency of both teams, who combined to commit more turnovers (29) than baskets (22).
Newport led 11-5 after one quarter and 15-5 with 3:27 to play before halftime before missed layups and turnovers slowed it down. It was 17-11 Newport at halftime, and the lead grew to nine in the second half.
The Greyhounds would make three baskets and five free throws over the game's final 14:47, giving Glen Rose an opportunity to get back in it.
Glen Rose, which averages around 40 points a game, was comfortable with the game barely getting into the 30s.
"It's what we do every game," Jones said. "We grit it out."
OSCEOLA 68, DUMAS 63, OT
Osceola overcame a five-point deficit in the final 30 seconds of the fourth quarter to force overtime with Dumas, and the Seminoles outscored the Bobcats 15-10 in the extra period to advance to Friday's 7 p.m. quarterfinal matchup with Mayflower.
Osceola (19-3) led 16-15 after one quarter, 26-24 at halftime and entered the fourth quarter up 42-40.
The Seminoles led 46-43 at the midway point of the quarter when Dumas (17-4) outscored Osceola 10-2 to go up 53-48 inside the final minute of regulation.
Dumas was led by 17 points from Tamaria Parker and 16 by Michael Reddick.
Osceola countered with a drive to the basket by Terry Long and a three-point basket from the left corner by Chris Littleton to force the extra period.
Dontaveon Littleton led Osceola with 15 points, including four in overtime. AJ Harris scored 6 of 11 points in overtime.
Osceola made 9 of 13 free throws in overtime, and 18 for 29 overall.