Heritage ousts Glass in home tournament rematch

Heritage sophomore Justen Joyner may not have been a human highlight reel for his team as it battled cross-town rival E.C. Glass on Monday for the third time this season, but he provided crucial play down the stretch.

Joyner scored four points in an overtime thriller —  including the jumper that put his team in the lead with 1:58 remaining — and the Pioneers stayed alive by beating Glass 66-61 in the Seminole District, Division 4, semifinals.

The win sets up a meeting between second-seeded Heritage (14-9, 9-4) and Seminole District regular season champion Amherst (20-3, 11-1), which narrowly escaped Jefferson Forest in the first game of the evening at Heritage, 69-64.

The rivalry between Glass and Heritage rarely disappoints, and fans have been treated to an extra dose of it this season. The Hilltoppers scored an eight-point win in overtime on Jan. 12, before losing at Heritage last Tuesday.

While Glass dominated the extra period of that first bout after the Pioneers came storming back to tie it up late, Monday’s contest featured a remarkably different Heritage squad. Junior guard Jeremy Hill led the way with 23 points — including a monstrous dunk that put the game out of reach with 43 seconds remaining — and the Heritage defense also forced two critical turnovers in the final two minutes.

Controlling Glass guard Najee Culver was mission No. 1 for the Pioneers, and that job fell mostly on senior Jesse Daniels. Culver tallied 20 points, but Heritage coach Dan Stephens said Daniels was instrumental in denying Culver the ball throughout the evening.

"Jesse Daniels, for us, did a great job on Najee," Stephens said. "He really made him work and kept the ball out of his hands a lot. He made a big impact for us defensively tonight."

It took the Pioneers nearly four minutes to hit a field goal in the first quarter against a scrappy, defensive-minded Glass team. But once Daniels hit a 3-pointer at the 4:16 mark, Heritage scored on four straight trips down the court, going on a 9-3 run over a two-minute span.

It was a lead they wouldn’t lose until the 1:39 mark in the fourth quarter, when Culver hit two free throws to put Glass in front by one.

But for the Hilltoppers, it was an uphill climb to narrow the deficit that was once as much as 16 at the start of the third quarter. They outscored Heritage 16-5 in the third, and then got big 3s by point guard Jermaine Mayo and senior guard Gibson Gardner.

With Glass down by two and time running down in regulation, Mayo controlled the ball for the Hilltoppers. He looked as if he would drive into the lane as the clock ticked under five seconds, but then pulled up for a 15-footer that rattled home and forced overtime.

"Mayo, that kid has a very bright future," Glass coach Roy Robertson said. "Gardner is probably our best outside shooter and we came up with some big shots in the second half. We needed all of them, and we still came up short."

Garner brought his team to within one with less than a minute to go in the extra period, but Joyner connected on two free throws on the opposite end and Glass wouldn’t score again.

Part of Heritage’s success was its ability to run the ball well in transition.

"We feel like we have pretty good depth," Stephens said. "And we wanted to wear them down as much as possible."

Amherst advanced after beating Jefferson Forest 69-64, backed by 22 points by A.J. Richerson. Jake Johnston added 25 for the Cavaliers, who led by one after the third quarter of play. But an experienced Lancers team kept them at bay and advanced to face Heritage on Wednesday at 7:30.