Knight to remember
- Updated: February 2, 2021
Weaver senior hits overtime buzzer-beater to beat Pleasant Valley, give Bearcats No. 2 seed in Class 3A Area 11

Tuesday’s boys games
Hokes Bluff 55, Ohatchee 36
Jacksonville 66, Springville 59
Jacksonville Christian 77, ASCTE 53
Munford 55, Clay Central 47
Oxford 54, Gadsden City 43
Piedmont 56, Cherokee County 44
Plainview 100, Spring Garden 66
Ragland 89, Ashville 52
Ramsay def. Anniston
Weaver 86, Pleasant Valley 85 (OT)
White Plains 74, Handley 67
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
WEAVER – Beau Winn didn’t think he could feel any happier leaving the Weaver gym than he did Monday night.
Then came Tuesday night.
Brendyn Knight hit a floater right before the buzzer at the end of overtime to give the Bearcats an 86-85 win over Pleasant Valley in a winner-take-second showdown in the Class 3A Area 11 boys race.
It wasn’t just any ol’ win over a rival. It was significant because the No. 2 seed draws home-court advantage in the opening round of next week’s area tournament. And these are the two teams that are going to meet in the opening round, Tuesday at 6 p.m.
The Bearcats were playing their third game in four days coming out of two weeks of inactivity in COVID quarantine.
They lost to these Raiders in their first game back Saturday, then came from behind in the fourth quarter to beat Ohatchee Monday to set up Tuesday’s showdown. A loss would have sent them to PV for the first-round game.
“These boys just kept believing in one another; tonight was really all about them,” Winn said. “They fought and fought and fought and fought some more. When you coach kids long enough you know that look, that look of determination, and that’s what they had tonight.
“Believing in something moves mountains. You don’t have to have all the talent in the world, but you start believing and get that rock rolling down the hill, it gains momentum.”
It was a furious finish, indeed. The game was tied with 2.8 seconds left in overtime when PV’s Garrett Cranmer went to the free throw line for a one-and-one. He made the first shot, but missed the second intentionally.
Knight rebounded and the Bearcats immediately called time with 1.6 seconds left to set up a final play. When the teams returned to the floor Raiders coach Brad Hood called time and that’s when Winn went back into the basketball archives to make the call that won the game.
He sent everybody to midcourt for Kohl Perry’s inbounds pass. On the break they all rushed towards the ball except for Knight, who took off in the opposite direction.
Perry’s length-of-the-floor pass was off line, and over the fingertips of 6-5 PV sophomore Kolby Battles, but Knight corralled it on the baseline, took one dribble, then floated the ball towards the goal right before the horn sounded.
“Grant Hill to Christian Laettner, that’s exactly what I thought about,” Winn said, referencing the winning shot from the 1992 Duke-Kentucky East Regional final some consider the greatest college basketball game of all time. “There was that point-four seconds of total silence and then total eruption. Brendyn said he heard it get quiet when he let it go and then all of a sudden it was pandemonium.
“Right before we inbounded he look at me, I looked at him and winked at him. As soon as he hit it we celebrated and went straight to the locker room. I had to take and seat on the way down because I was so emotional for what we’ve overcome.”
“It was one of those plays that was such a fluke play, but was so beautiful you cannot be upset about it,” Hood said. “It had to be run perfect. The pass was a little off, but it was just beautiful the way it worked out. I was at peace with it.”
Knight finished with 34 points. Kyle Knight had 19 and Tristan Brown had 17.
“I’ve never played this good,” Knight said. “Coach called a good play and it worked out.”
Pleasant Valley’s Josh Ballew led all scorers with 46, mostly off set plays, and had 15 assists; he scored only two against the Bearcats on Saturday. He had 31 in the second half and overtime.
It was his three free throws with two seconds left in regulation that capped a 10-point PV rally in the final three minutes and sent the game into overtime.
Greg Warren contributed to this report.
Weaver 86, Pleasant Valley 85 (OT)
PLEASANT VALLEY – Garrett Cranmer 5 4-5 15, Josh Ballew 18 6-7 46, Oliver Young 1 0-0 2, Kolby Battles 3 1-2 7, Zeke Johnson 2 0-0 6, Pelham Parris 1 1-2 3, Justin Winningham 2 2-4 6. Totals 31 14-20 85.
WEAVER – Brendyn Knight 12 10-16 34, Kyle Knight 5 7-7 19, Jackson Williams 1 0-2 2, Kohl Perry 3 0-0 6, Dawson Brooks 1 0-0 2, Jeffrey Miles 0 3-4 3, Trevor Clendenin 1 0-0 3, Tristan Brown 6 4-6 17. Totals 29 24-35.
Pleasant Valley 21 16 20 21 7 – 85
Weaver 15 20 26 17 8 – 86
3-point goals: Pleasant Valley 7 (Cranmer, Ballew 4, Johnson 2); Weaver 4 (K. Knight 2, Clendenin, Brown). Fouled out: Winningham. Total fouls: Pleasant Valley 22, Weaver 15. Officials: Dyar, Askew, Hall.

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