Forrest leads Ely to win

POMPANO BEACH — When it came down to crunch time, Blanche Ely went to Michael Forrest.

Facing Forest Hill in the Class 8A regional quarterfinals on Thursday night, the Tigers were on the brink of elimination as they trailed 75-73 with 6.9 seconds left. With the season on the line, the Fab Five selection delivered once again.

The senior took an inbounds pass, sprinted the length of the court — evading Falcon defenders in the process — and scored the game-tying lay-up just before the buzzer sounded to send the game into overtime.

In the extra session, Blanche Ely sealed the deal as it topped Forest Hill 91-82 to advance to the regional semifinals. Forrest scored a game-high 44 points.

“As I was dribbling downcourt [on the game-tying lay-up] on the sidelines, the man rolled up,” said Forrest recalling the play. “So I went around him and went around the next guy and laid the ball up.”

“Once I made the lay-up, I was like ‘My season is still going on.’”

The Tigers will face Dwyer on Tuesday.

Making its first playoff appearance in 15 years, Forest Hill nearly toppled the Broward County juggernaut, but couldn’t close it out down the stretch. Phillip Lyttle scored a team-high 28 points for the Falcons.

The Tigers stormed out to a 14-point lead and led by double digits for the majority of the first three quarters. Blanche Ely took a 56-45 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Falcons roared back, taking its first lead with 2:27 left.

After going back-andforth, Forest Hill took a 75-73 lead with 24 seconds left after Tristan Stephens collected an offensive rebound and scored a putback bucket.

After the Forrest lay-up, the Tigers surged past the Falcons in the extra session.

Blanche Ely, which was denied a three-peat last year after winning back-to-back state titles in 2015 and 2016, will aim for another return to Lakeland.