By LLOYD COMBS
for the Daily Telegraph
COUNCIL, Va. — Believing one can win goes a long way for a young team, and three critical runs made believers out of Twin Valley.
Freshman Austin Shortridge sank a free throw with 48.4 seconds remaining to break a 58-58 tie and give the Panthers a 59-58 win over Council in a Crooked Road Conference and Black Diamond District thriller Friday night.
Both teams missed free throws, including two by the Cobras, in the final 5.6 seconds.
Freshman Stephen Mullins posted a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds for Twin Valley, which erased most of a 9-point deficit just before halftime, took a 7-point lead in the third period and finished on a 7-2 run over the game’s final 4:32.
“All those were key runs,” said Twin Valley coach Brian Moore, whose club has won three of its last four. “Every basketball game you have runs and we had three good ones. That shot that Sean Helbert hit just before halftime was a huge boost for us. We felt like we were back in the game.
"We came and played pretty well in the third quarter and I think that put us over the top. It made us believe we could win the game. We were just fortunate to be able to hang on. To come over here and win is a big deal for us, it helps relieve some pressure.”
Sean Helbert’s 3-pointer with one second left in the first half capped a 7-0 run that cut Council’s 33-24 lead to 33-31 at the break. Brandon McGlothlin scored 17 points, six in a 10-2 spurt that gave the Panthers (3-11) a 43-36 lead midway through the third quarter.
Council (7-9) slowly worked its way back into the lead behind the play of Lucas Barton, Josh Viers, Devin Duty and David Boyd and took a 56-52 lead after back-to-back buckets from Viers midway through the fourth period.
The play of the 6-foot-7 Mullins inside, however, was just too much for the Cobras to overcome. Shannon Adams hauled in eighr rebounds as the Panthers nearly doubled up Council on the boards, finishing with a 37-19 advantage.
Barton (15 points, 5 steals), Viers (14 points, 5 assists) and Duty (11 points) all scored in double figures for Council, which forced 20 turnovers. It just wasn’t enough for the Cobras to overcome the Panthers’ advantage inside.
“Even with the turnovers I thought (Twin Valley) did a good job handling our pressure,” Council coach Patrick Wade said. “But our kids played hard and played well. I thought the physicality of the game just had more of an effect on our game plan than it did theirs.”

TWIN VALLEY (59)
Wagner 2, Adams 3, McGlothlin 17, Burniston 8, Shortridge 6, S.
Mullins 20, Wimmer 0, Presley 0, Helbert 3.
COUNCIL (58)
Mackey 5, Viers 14, L. Barton 15, Tiller 6, Duty 11, Boyd 7, Stevens 0.
Twin Valley................12 19 20 8 -- 59
Council......................20 13 15 10 -- 58
3-point goals-TV 1 (Helbert), C 2 (Viers, Mackey). JV Game-Twin Valley won.