Portal survives

PORTAL 67, TERRELL COUNTY 65

After squandering a 20-point, third-quarter lead, Portal needed David Buchannon’s last-second layup to advance to the final four.

Buchannon went the length of the court and scored a layup with 0.7 seconds left to give the Panthers a 67-65 victory against Terrell County in the Class A quarterfinals on Friday at Columbus State's Lumpkin Center.

Buchannon finished with a game-high 31 points for the Panthers, who will play the winner of Whitefield Academy and Hancock Central on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in Macon. Shane Reese scored 15 and Thomas Busby had 10 for Portal.

Portal appeared headed for a blow-out win in the third quarter. Reese’s 3-pointer with 4:26 left in the quarter capped a 12-4 and gave the Panthers a 48-28 lead.

But the Greenwave didn’t give up and rallied to take a 59-58 lead with 2:29 left in the game when Quintravis Benjamin made a pair of free throws.

Terrell County’s Brandon Browner made a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left to give the Greenwave a 65-63 lead – Terrell County’s last one of the game.

Portal’s Chris Sapp tied the game with an 8-footer before Buchannon’s layup won it.

James McGill led Terrell County with 16, while Martavious Yarbrough had 15.