The Millbrook Wildcats avenged their Cap-7 tournament loss at the hands of the Leesville Road Pride on Thursday night as they knocked the Pride out of the state playoffs with a thrilling 67-63 win.
Phillip Burwell knocked down a mid-range jumper to put Millbrook ahead for good at 64-63 after Carter Whitt put Leesville Road ahead 63-62 in the waning moments.
That bucket by Whitt capped a 6-0 Leesville Road run that erased a 62-57 deficit.
The first half went back-and-forth, but the Pride were in control for most of it thanks to a hot start from the floor for Jaron Vanhoosier, who knocked down four triples in the first half.
Millbrook was able to have the game tied up at 38 at the break in spite of Vanhoosier's outburst, thanks in part to sophomore Will Felton scoring 13 points in the half.
The Wildcats took some control of the game in the third quarter with a stout defensive performance, as Whitt was held off the board and R.J. Wilson was held to just four points.
Millbrook once again built up a bit of a lead again in the fourth quarter when they got ahead 62-58.
At that point, Scott Martin was fouled by Nolan Dorsey in the act of shooting. Before Martin could shoot his free throws, a technical foul was assessed to Millbrook.
Martin hit one of two, Whitt followed by making two free throws before hitting his go-ahead bucket.
After Burwell answered and the Wildcats got another free throw to make it 65-63, Millbrook had a chance to put it away, but Jalen McCoy missed both free throws allowing Leesville Road a chance to tie or win the game.
Whitt crossed half-court with the ball and tried to dribble the clock down to set up a buzzer-beater to tie or win the game, but Isaiah Lewis applied defense and forced a call for a violation of the closely guarded rule.
With the win, Millbrook advances to take on Knightdale, who earned a bid in the third round by going down to Cumberland County and beating Pine Forest.