Xavier Edwards propels Kenwood to victory with halfcourt buzzer-beater

Xavier Edwards drained a halfcourt shot at the buzzer to complete Kenwood’s 60-58 come-back victory over visiting U-High on Thursday.

The Broncos trailed by 13 at halftime but Kenwood outscored U-High 41-31 in the second half.

After Jordan Moran coverted 1 of 2 free throws with 1.7 seconds left in the game to give U-High a 58-57 lead, Edwards caught the ensuing inbound pass near halfcourt and nailed the shot for the victory.

“It was an exciting play, and we never gave up,” Broncos coach Jim Maley said. “We came out flat to start the game, but we challenged them at halftime.”

Kenwood (11-14) pressed the Maroons and caused them to turn the ball over during several key possessions of the game.

U-High began to re-establish itself early in the fourth quarter with a 10-5 run sparked by Moran and Max Rothschild.

The two leaders of the team took over when the Maroons were struggling and turning the ball over.

“We ran set plays,” said U-High head coach Marlo Finner. “We call those M and J plays.”

Kenwood never gave up despite the runs by Moran and Rothschild.

The Broncos tied the game with under two minutes left, but on the next possession Jonathan King made a three-point shot to put the Maroons up 57-54 with 29 seconds remaining.

Kenwood had an answer and tied the game with 10 seconds left in regulation.