jjohnson@heraldsun.com; 419-6667
DURHAM -- Aaron Law hit three free throws with 5.1 seconds left to lift visiting East Chapel Hill to a 61-58 win over Jordan Friday night.
Law, who finished with 20 points to lead the Wildcats, was fouled going up for a shot from just outside the arc with time winding down.
It wasn't a foul Jordan coach Kim Annas wanted with the score tied.
"I think everybody played hard, but you've got to play smart," Annas said.
After Law sank his free throws, Jordan go the ball past midcourt and called timeout to set up its final play. The Falcons had difficulty getting the ball inbounds, then Jamaal Bowden's shot from between the rings came up short.
East Chapel Hill coach Ray Hartsfield said he was happy to get a win, especially on the road.
"I don't know how many lead changes there were, but that was a good road win in a tight conference race," Hartsfield said. "Anytime you come out with a win like this, you count your blessings."
The game saw huge swings in momentum with each team building sizable leads only to see them melt away.
East Chapel Hill struck first, building a 9-3 lead in a spurt that included a pair of 3-pointers by Randall Davis.
"It was just an instant," Davis said. "I just shot my regular shot. The team needed me to hit them."
The Wildcats eventually led by 12 points at 19-7 on a 3-pointer by Bryson Gibson with two minutes left in the first quarter.
But from that point until halftime, Jordan flipped its switch and turned the game around. The Falcons used pressure defense and East Chapel Hill went cold, missing their first four shots in the second quarter, all from behind the arc.
Jordan took a lead 25-23 on a jumper at the free-throw line by T.J. Thorpe, who finished with a game-high 25 points. The Falcons went on to take a 32-27 lead into the break and ultimately led by nine with 3:26 left in the third quarter when Thorpe hit a baseline 3-pointer.
"It worked in opposites," Annas said. "In the second and third quarters, we forced them into some bad shots. In the fourth quarter, they did that to us."
In the final two minutes of the third, East Chapel Hill stormed back to cut the margin to 43-41 with Gabe Strathern hitting a follow shot in the lane to beat the buzzer.
Rusher Pope tied the game on the first possession of the fourth quarter for the Wildcats.
The lead then see-sawed until Davis and Gibson hit back-to-backs 3-pointers to vault East Chapel Hill into a 57-53 lead with 2:06 left.
East Chapel Hill tried to milk the clock, but Jordan forced a pair of steals and converted them as Thorpe struck with 1:25 left and Joreal Bennett tied the score at 58 with 37 seconds left.
The Wildcats then played for the last shot with Law dribbling near the time line. He made his move and pulled up over a pair of Jordan defenders. As he let his shot go, the whistle blew for the and the foul.
"When they backed up off me, that's when I stepped in for the shot," Law said. "When I got to the line, I just wanted to knock 'em down."
The win keeps East Chapel Hill (14-3, 6-1 PAC-6) right behind Riverside in the conference race, and those teams will match up on Tuesday. Jordan (9-6, 2-3) lost its third game in a row.
East Chapel Hill 61, Jordan 58
EAST CHAPEL HILL--Aaron Law 20, Greg Strathern 6, Mike Mangum 2, Ross Whisenant 2, Greg Alston 5, Pope 5, Bryson Gibson 8, Randall Davis 12
JORDAN--Matt Gaylord 2, Marvin Flowers 2, Devin McArthur 5, Phillip Williamson 5, Jamal Bowden 7, Joreal Bennett 10, Sam Selig 2, T.J. Thorpe 25
East Chapel Hill 21 6 14 20--61
Jordan 14 18 11 15--58
3-Point goals--East Chapel Hill 5 (Gibson 2, Davis 3). Jordan 4 (Thorpe 2, Bowden, Bennett). Rebounds--Jordan 26 (Selig 6, Thorpe 6). Assists--Jordan 10 (Bennett 5)
Records--East Chapel Hill 14-3, 6-1 PAC-6. Jordan 9-6, 2-3
