Braves pull off stunner

Boone boys basketball had the last say in a thrilling back-and-forth game to complete a 78-76 upset of No. 1-ranked Oak Ridge on the Pioneers’ home floor on Wednesday night.

Robert Soto made the goahead basket on a driving layup with 17.4 seconds left, and Oak Ridge came up empty at the other end.

“We have to play like that every game,” said Boone guard Sean Halloran, who scored 20 points. “We knew they were No. 1 in the state [for 9A] and nationally ranked, so we wanted to play hard. But we need to bring that every game.”

Marlon Allen led the Braves (14-10) with 24 points, and Soto added 20.

Antwann Jones scored 21 and Emmitt Williams had 15 for Oak Ridge (22-4), which came in ranked as high as No. 15 in the country.

Boone took the lead early in the first quarter and led by nine with 4:21 left in the game. Then Jones got hot for the Pioneers, scoring 10 points over a 1:30 stretch, including a 3-pointer to tie it 72-72 with 3:01 to go.

The Braves responded as they did all game when Da Kevias Bracy made a layup at the other end. After free throws by both teams, Emmitt Williams threw down a thunderous dunk to tie the score again 76-76.

“We stayed composed and didn’t get rattled by the crowd even when Oak Ridge went on a run,” Allen said.

Oak Ridge had lost only to nationally ranked teams from Maryland, Memphis and Virginia before Wednesday’s stunner.