Top-Ranked Wheeler Loses, 68-66

Four times had the ball out of bounds along the baseline on the offensive end in the fourth quarter. Four times the Wildcats failed to score.

Those four failures—three turnovers and a missed, desperation 12-foot jump shot by Derrick Evans just before the buzzer—proved the difference in top-ranked Wheeler’s 68-66 loss at home to No. 2 .

It was an intense game for mid-December, one that happened only because of the cancellation of a showcase involving the two teams in North Carolina.

The biggest lead of the game was six points, when Wheeler jumped ahead in the second quarter, but neither team led by more than four in the second half.

The Generals brought a large crowd from Snellville to counter the Wildcats’ home-court advantage in the Douglas Lipscomb Gym, and distraught Wheeler senior center Chuck Mitchell collapsed to the floor and pulled his jersey over his head after the loss.

“I had a bad night!” Mitchell tweeted after the game.

Georgia Tech signee Robert Carter outscored Mitchell, 19 to 10, in a touted matchup of big men, but Carter had the help of Shiloh’s bigger front line, including 7-foot sophomore Trayvon Reed, who had 13 points.

Mitchell usually had to drive past two or three big men to get to basket, and he struggled to finish. His third foul late in the third quarter also forced him to the bench for several minutes.

Also suffering foul trouble was sophomore forward Elijah Staley, who picked up his fourth foul with a minute left in the third quarter and went to the bench with Wheeler leading by one.

He returned to the game with 5½ minutes left and Wheeler back up by one but fouled out within 15 seconds.

Staley scored eight points, all in the first half. Guard Jacob Obande also scored all 13 of his points in the first half. Derrick Evans and David Lipscomb picked up the scoring load in the second half.

Wheeler played without freshman swingman Kejuan Johnson, sitting out two games after picking up a pair of technical fouls in the Wildcats’ 72-71 win over Walton on Dec. 9.

Still, the game came down to those inbounds plays. Both Obande and Lipscomb failed to find an open teammate while Carter jumped and waved his arms.

The game-deciding play came after Evans hit a runner to tie the game at 66, and Reed stepped across the baseline while trying to throw the ball in, turning it back over to Wheeler with 17.1 seconds left.

Lipscomb tried to throw the inbounds pass deep to Seymour, who broke into the backcourt.

But the pass was a little late, giving Shiloh point guard Jordan Gaither time to intercept the ball and take it to the hoop for the layup. Seymour fouled him, but Gaither missed the free throw with about 13 second to play.

Wheeler pushed the ball upcourt, but almost inevitably, the Generals knocked the ball out of bounds on the baseline with 2.1 seconds left.

This time, Lipscomb got the ball to Evans, but his 12-foot jumper rolled off the rim to end the game.

For more on the game, check out the Storify compilation of tweets from GaPatchSports and other sources, and you can watch the replay of the game from iHigh.com. We'll have more photos and video later.