NATCHEZ &045; Just one free throw.

In the final two minutes the Cathedral Green Wave held tough on the defensive end and kept St. Al from going inside to the post or taking a wide-open shot from the 3-point line that would have tied it up.

And every time the Green Wave got the ball back, the Flashes fouled to put the Wave at the line.

Two misses in the bonus kept the Flashes’ hopes alive until Turner Smith went to the line in the double bonus with five seconds left. He even missed the first one but canned the second to give the Wave a 38-34 victory in the Region 7-1A tournament.

The win puts the Green Wave playing at 5:30 p.m. Monday against top-seeded West Lincoln. But more importantly, it locks up a playoff spot and gives the team a little redemption after losing to the Flashes twice in the regular season by double digits.

&uot;This is going to be one of the best experiences I have in high school &045; putting St. Al out,&uot; Smith said. &uot;We went up there, and they beat us by 22. They beat us here by 11. I missed the first (free throw), looked at the scoreboard and knew I had to put the second one in. I would have felt horrible to miss it and they hit a miracle shot at the buzzer.&uot;

The Green Wave took that 3-pointer away with its 2-3 zone defense it played the entire game, but never did it come in as handy as it did in the final two minutes. When Kyle Richards tossed in a bucket with 2:07 left to cut Cathedral’s lead to 37-34, the Flashes couldn’t convert on their end to get any closer.

Then Matt Goss and Charlie Lane each missed at the free throw line to keep in a one-possession ball game until Smith hit that one free throw with five seconds left.

After three missed 3-point attempts in the final minute, the Flashes came up empty at the buzzer when Drew Mazzanti fired a half-court shot.

&uot;Turner came through at the end,&uot; CHS head coach Bobby Holder said. &uot;We set up the in-bounds play so Turner would be fouled, and I had confidence he would make both of them. He made one, and that was the clincher. With five seconds left you can let them take any shot they want.

&uot;All of the kids played an outstanding game. They were focused, played with intensity and hit the boards hard in the first half. That was really kind of a tone-setter and really gave us a lift.&uot;

It was two minutes of sort of helplessness for St. Al head coach Paul Hayden, who watched his team come back from 10 points down in the first half. The Flashes took a two-point lead in the fourth quarter but couldn’t put in a 3-pointer in that final stretch.

The Flashes hit one each in the second and third quarters, but attempts from Anthony Rector, Mazzanti and Kyle Richards didn’t fall.

&uot;They played their type of game,&uot; Hayden said. &uot;My hat goes off to them. It’s this gym. My girls had the same problem down here last night. It really makes a big difference when you play at home. I knew that. We had that advantage last year. It came down to the little things &045; missed layups early on and missed opportunities.&uot;

The Flashes backed out of their 2-2-1 half-court trap in the second half for a 2-3 zone, and it started to take away some of the Green Wave’s inside game. Most of the Green Wave’s points in the first half came close around the basket, but the Flashes held Cathedral without a field goal in the final four minutes of the third quarter.

Richards tossed in a bucket before Mazzanti hit a 3-pointer with 1:23 left to cut the lead to 26-24. Then David Welland put one in with five seconds left to tie the score at 26 heading into the fourth quarter.

&uot;The 2-3 has been our signature defense all year,&uot; Hayden said. &uot;We went to man a little later because they were going to stall the ball. We had to press a little bit to force something, but we couldn’t capitalize.&uot;

With the game tied at 28, Anthony Rector missed a layup while all alone under the basket, and Dario Lawrence’s basket that followed would have put the lead at four. But instead it was two, and the Green Wave got two free throws from Jonathan Jackson to tie it up.

But against that 2-3 zone, Cathedral hit a couple of 3-pointers &045; one each from Matt Goss and Russell Barmer &045; to take a 36-30 lead with 3:48 left in the game.

Goss finished with a game-high 14 points.

&uot;Those two &045; Matt Goss and Russell did a great job of putting it in,&uot; Smith said. &uot;Goss hit two or three out there. He played his game and stepped up tonight. (St. Al) crowded the inside, we passed it around, the 3 was open and they did a good job of putting it in.&uot;