1/20/2010 - Roadrunners Win Thriller: Roadrunners 60, Paris 59

Stat sheets alone couldn’t possibly tell the story of Wednesday’s wild ending to the AC vs. Paris game played at Shands Gym.

The box scores will show Takoby Jackson leading the Roadrunners with 23 points, but the biggest plays of the game came within the final minute and a half of AC’s 60-59 win over Paris.

Adrick McKinney battled his way inside the paint to put back Jackson’s miss with 1:33 to play, giving AC its final lead. On the next Paris possession, McKinney laid his 6’8” frame over the floor to bat away a loose ball leading to another AC offensive series. When that led to a Roadrunner turnover with :29 to play, the Dragons held the advantage, trying to hold for the last shot.

That shot never materialized. Outstanding AC defense kept the shot clock winding down; and when Dragon big man Desmond King – who led Paris with 18 points – got the ball down low, AC’s Travis Smith was there for a game-sealing steal to lift the Roadrunners to their 7th win in conference play against just two losses.

“It’s weird, but even after we turned the ball over that last time, I wasn’t really worried,” AC head coach Todd Neighbors said. “We’d been playing extremely well on the defensive end in the second half, and I believed we’d make a stop.

“In fact, I was trying to call a timeout before, but the officials didn’t hear me. Guess it’s a good thing they didn’t.”

Jackson, who scored 13 of his 23 in the first half, saw nothing but double teams throughout the second. Still he managed to involve his teammates enough to slay the Dragons.

“I wasn’t getting any open looks the second half, so I knew I had to drive to the hoop and either draw the foul or find someone else open,” Jackson said. “I just hate that I missed Travis’ (Smith’s) steal at the end. I was trying to play defense and didn’t even see it.”

Smith finished with eight points, eight rebounds and three steals for AC. Trent Brantley added seven points, four boards and three blocked shots for the Roadrunners, now 12-7, 7-2.

AC will take on Panola in Carthage on Saturday, with tip off set for 4 p.m.