Davis Henderson steals the ball from Valwood and heads the other way.

CHULA — Thomas Coogle put back a free throw miss and the Tiftarea Academy Panthers punched their ticket for the District 3-AAA semifinals Monday night with a 46-45 stunner over Valwood. They will join the Lady Panthers in that slot after the girls breezed past the Lady Valiants 44-22 earlier that day.

The victories likely do even more for Tiftarea’s teams. They are now likely assured of the state tournament.

Tiftarea’s boys came into the day No. 12 in MaxPreps’ AAA power rankings, on the borderline, with Valwood 13th. The Lady Panthers were 11th on Monday.

The Panthers are 22 games into a grueling 2023-24 season that saw them split with every region opponent except one. Head coach Rob Flick said his message before the game was “Great players don’t get tired.” Though it took time to get going, Tiftarea finished strong.

The victory was especially sweet for the Panthers, considering they trailed by 13 points in the 3rd quarter and two of their top players were unavailable. That meant Elijah Smith had to play all 32 minutes as both a point guard and their top scoring option. Smith finished at 18 points, joined in double-digits by J.R. Walker at 13 and Coogle with 10.

Ethan Owens sank a 3-pointer 20 seconds into the 3rd quarter and Tiftarea trailed 30-17.

Flick said the focus on was not letting Valwood get going from distance, with Caden Grier being responsible in particular for Jack Morris. “Let him get going,” Flick began. “He can shoot that thing.” Morris only had one 3-pointer on the night and they held Valwood to three total, one after halftime.

Immediately, they began chipping away. An 8-0 run over two minutes trimmed the margin to five points. Richard Hunter broke the silence, sandwiching a Smith triple with a pair of baskets, but that would be it for Valwood for the remainder of the 3rd.

Smith’s jumper at 1:22 made it a one-possession game. Seconds later, the Valiants closed in on a Smith drive, leaving Grier wide open behind the arc. Grier didn’t miss and the teams headed for the 4th knotted at 34.

TIftarea held Valwood to three makes from the field in the frame. The Valiants were even colder for most of the 4th: One basket for the first seven minutes.

Two Whit Jordan blocks highlighted a defense that sealed up the paint after Valwood began the 4th with a bucket. Coogle had back-to-back offensive rebounds for a 40-37 lead. Smith hit a jumper and Jordan drove the lane for a 44-38 score at 1:42, seemingly smooth sailing the rest of the way for the Panthers, especially with the Valiants called for traveling.

Then everything went haywire.

Morris stole an inbounds pass for a layup with 42 seconds to go. He was fouled on another steal five seconds later, making one at the line. Clinging to a 44-41 lead, the Panthers missed two free throws. Owens posted up with 20 seconds left, cutting it to a point.

Tiftarea could not get the ball in on the inbound, Flick a moment too late calling a timeout.

Conner Hutto scored with six seconds left, putting Valwood ahead at 45-44. Then, the Panthers caught a break. Valwood fouled Smith in the backcourt with five seconds on the clock.

Uncharacteristically, neither free throw fell for Smith. Down in the right block, Coogle got his paws on the rebound, lofting up a prayer. It went in, sending Tiftarea into hysterics.

Flick described Valwood’s 1st half accuracy as “unconscious.”

The Valiants scored 18 points in the first eight minutes, including on a rare four-point play when Morris was knocked down on a made 3-pointer from the corner. Tiftarea was limited to eight points in the same span.

“They hit everything in the 1st half,” said Flick.

Smith’s three to start the 2nd cut the deficit to 18-11, but Hunter knocked down three shots. Chase Helfter’s long jumper pushed it to 12 in the last minute before Walker hit two from the stripe for a 27-17 halftime score.

Though the Panthers had three in double figures, only Hunter (at 11 points) reached that for Valwood. Morris scored 9 points.

TIFTAREA 44, LADY VALIANTS 22

Tiftarea was up 12-2 after a quarter and 33-8 at halftime. Head coach Carrie Phillips said she took their foot off the gas pedal in the 3rd to save her players for the rest of the district tournament.

Hannah Grace Murphy scored six points in the 1st quarter. Amelia Mercer finished the period with a steal and basket, carrying that fire to the 2nd, where she added 10 more points.

Mercer’s second triple put Tiftarea ahead 20 with 5:35 remaining in the half. Isabel Fernandez’s five points built the lead to 33-6 though Valwood’s Ansley Holmes scored the last basket of the half.

Three points by Mercer at the stripe and a 3-pointer by Maci Shoultz peaked the Lady Panthers’ lead at 39-8 midway through the 3rd. Holmes and Emma Burnett dropped it to a 26-point deficit, but Tiftarea still got a mercy rule as Lexi Connell and Kate Coogle scored four points in the last 20 seconds.

Valwood outscored Tiftarea 9-1 in the 4th.

Mercer finished at 15 points, with Fernandez at 7. Holmes scored 6 to lead Valwood, Burnett contributing 5.

Tiftarea teams were both defeated Tuesday in the district semifinals, played at Georgia Southwestern. Terrell Academy won over the Lady Panthers, 52-23, and the Panthers fell to Deerfield-Windsor, 61-51. Both were to play consolation games Thursday.