Coronado holds off Democracy Prep in wild OT ending — PHOTOS
Coronado junior Munir Greig showcased his defense at the end of regulation in a wild boys basketball game against Democracy Prep on Wednesday.
The 6-foot-6-inch wing stole a Democracy Prep pass and raced down the floor for a layup with 35 seconds left to even the score at 51 and eventually send the game into overtime.
In overtime, it was the four-star prospect’s passing that won Coronado the game.
Greig drove to the basket with less than 10 seconds left, and his pass found a wide-open DeVaughn Dorrough, who scored a layup to put Coronado ahead.
The Cougars, No. 4 in the Review-Journal’s Class 5A rankings, held on for the final three seconds and claimed a 62-60 overtime road win against No. 3 Democracy Prep at Doolittle Community Center.
“We came out tough. We came out missing shots a lot,” said Greig, who finished with 19 points. “That’s a part of the game. We just executed the whole way, a four-quarter game. Missed a lot of free throws, we definitely got to work on that stuff. This was a big one. That was a nice comeback win for us.”
It wasn’t the prettiest game for Coronado (8-7, 3-1 5A Southern League), as the Cougars missed 20 free throws and dealt with foul trouble most of the second half and overtime.
Coronado’s struggles were early, going 3 of 10 at the free-throw line in the first quarter, not having a made field goal and trailing Democracy Prep 13-3 after 10 minutes.
“Our concentration at the line, I’ve never seen anything like it, but they managed to get through it,” Coronado coach Jeff Kaufman said. “We didn’t score a field goal in the first quarter, but we knew that it was one of those kinds of games where (Democracy Prep) was going to come out in an energy game.”
Eventually, Coronado started making shots. Two consecutive 3-pointers from Missouri State commit Amare Oba and one from Demari Hunter helped Coronado hold a 28-26 halftime lead.
Coronado led 39-38 after the third quarter, and the score was within a basket in the final six minutes of regulation.
“We needed to stay to the game plan and fight back,” Kaufman said. “We were getting what we wanted, just couldn’t make a free throw.”
Democracy Prep (9-8, 0-2) led 51-49 with less than a minute left in regulation and had possession, but Greig came through with the steal and score.
“I was in foul trouble the whole game, so they had to sit me,” said Greig, who had four fouls. “When the time went down to six minutes, (coach) said he needed me, so I had to go in there, execute, be a dog and take the game away.”
Overtime was just as close. Coronado twice had opportunities to break a 60-60 tie after a Harris layup tied the score, but the Cougars missed all four of their free throws.
Democracy Prep went for the lead on a Harris 3-pointer with 34 seconds left, but the shot missed and Coronado called timeout for the final play.
Greig drove to his left with seven seconds left, and the defense closed on him as he drove around the perimeter, which left Dorrough open for the game-winning layup.
“Everyone in the gym knew that we were going to put the ball in (Greig’s) hands on the last play,” Kaufman said. “He did what he was supposed to do. It takes a really good player to give that basketball up instead of trying to win it for himself.”
Amare Oba scored 14 for Coronado, and Dorrough finished with 10 points. Kaden Arnold led Democracy Prep with 15 points, and Eli Scott added 12 off the bench.
The game was played at Doolittle Community Center because a pipe from a water fountain burst and flooded Democracy Prep’s home gym in late November.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
