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Like he must have done hundreds of times growing up, MacDonald got the ball -- 9, 8, 7 ... head fake ... 6 ... shot -- and just like he practiced it, the jumper from the lane ripped through the net, lifting Hilton Head Christian Academy to a 70-68 victory against Hilton Head Preparatory School in both teams' SCISAA Region 3-AAA opener.
"That's what you do all the time when you're younger," said MacDonald, who scored nine of his 15 points in the fourth quarter. "You count down from 3 or 5 or whatever, and you shoot it up at 1 and hope you make it."
He made just about everything in the fourth quarter, leading the Eagles back from a four-point deficit in the final two minutes, and was one of four Eagles in double figures. Ethan Gort added 16 points and Joey Davis and Zac Lenns scored 11 apiece.
Still, the Dolphins seemed to have this one in their grasp. Dominic DiGenova scored a game-high 19, hitting 8-of-8 from the free-throw line, and Mike DeGraef added 14, mostly in transition, as Prep maintained the lead throughout the second half.
"They got out and ran on us in the second half and got some easy baskets ... I thought they were going to win," Eagles coach Mike Colella said. "But I give every ounce of credit to these guys. They refused to lose."
Indeed, it was the Eagles who came up with all the big plays down the stretch. They forced a five-second call on an inbounds pass to get the ball back when they were trailing 66-62 and forced another turnover while trailing 68-67 with less than a minute left.
MacDonald made one of two free throws to tie it at 68, and the Eagles ripped down an offensive rebound off the missed second shot. Hilton Head Christian used a timeout with 18 seconds left to draw up the final play, a high-low play in which Gort took the inbounds pass from Weston Butler and dumped it inside to MacDonald, who took care of the rest.
It's the Eagles' third win against their rivals this season, by a combined eight points. The last two have come on the court that bears longtime Prep coach Rich Basirico's name.
"It's disappointing," Basirico said. "We had the opportunities. We just didn't take care of the basketball down the stretch. ... We didn't make our foul shots. We didn't take care of the little things that make big things happen for you."
HILTON HEAD CHRISTIAN (12-2, 1-0) Weston Butler 5, Joey Davis 11, Michael Hull 4, Zac Lenns 11, Corey MacDonald 15, Ethan Gort 16, Devin McGuinness 2, Chris Ferraro 6.
HILTON HEAD PREP (9-5, 0-1) DeAnte Scott 3, Matt Layman 10, Mike DeGraef 14, Dylan Rosser 8, Creighton Quinn 8, Patrick Andrews 6, Dominic DiGenova 19.
Hilton Head Prep girls 46, Hilton Head Christian 34
Dolphins coach Bob Sulek has still never lost to Hilton Head Christian, but the Eagles made him sweat it Tuesday.
Prep trailed by as many as 12 in the second half before reeling off a 14-1 run to end the third quarter, culminating with a 3-pointer from reserve Marisa Martin, which gave the Dolphins the lead of the second half.
They pulled away from there, getting 15 points and 14 rebounds from Kelly Ruben and another strong effort from Kathleen Blum, who had nine points, 10 steals and 10 assists.
"That was probably the toughest Christian Academy game we've had in the 11 years I've been here," Sulek said.
The Eagles battled foul trouble throughout the game, and eventually saw three starters -- Ellie Patterson, Erika Sonberg and Abby Page -- foul out. Emily Bowen led the team with eight points and 18 rebounds. Sonberg added six points and 11 rebounds, and Page scored seven and grabbed nine boards.
"I'm very proud of the effort they gave. Very proud," Eagles coach Jerry Faulkner said. "They've found if they play with that kind of intensity and that kind of effort, they can be competitive."
HILTON HEAD CHRISTIAN (7-4, 0-1) Ellie Patterson 6, Emily Bowen 8, Erika Sonberg 6, Abby Page 7, Janel Raquet 2, Lauren Davis 5.
HILTON HEAD PREP (11-4, 1-0) Lane Czura 2, Kathleen Blum 9, Lauren McKenzie 4, Becky DeRose 8, Jamese Franklin 4, Marisa Martin 3, Kelly Ruben 15, Grace Anderson 1.
