RISON - After rallying from a eight-point halftime deficit, Woodlawn saw its second-half comeback snuffed out in the final second as the Hampton Bulldogs drained a 15-footer as time expired to pull out a 76-75 win over the Bears in the 8-2A District Tournanment quarterfinals last Saturday at Parkers Chapel.The loss ended the year for Woodlawn, which finished with its eighth consecutive winning season at 18-12. Hampton advanced to the district tournament semifinals and earned a spot in the Region 4 Tournament as a result of its win.The Bears went into the district tournament looking to bounce back from a disappointing finish to the regular season. Woodlawn had lost its final three games after a round of the flu and stomach virus hit the team hard at the start of Febuary. While the Bears managed to pull out a win at home against Parkers Chapel with eight players available, they lost three starters and had several key reserves when they played Junction City two-days later. The Bears were in position at that time to possibly finish second in the regular season and earn an automatic bid to the regional tournament.Not only did Woodlawn fall against the Dragons, the impact from the sickness seemed to linger as the Bears lost their final two regular season games at Ouachita and Hampton. Both were by double digits.But Woodlawn Coach Logan Adair said he felt his team was starting to starting to turn the corner as the district tournament game played out against Hampton, even with a slow start.The 'Dogs led 16-14 at the end of the opening frame before they scored 25 points in the second to go up 41-33 at the half.But that's when the Bears began to rally. Woodlawn closed it to a 57-52 deficit by the end of the third, and then Jude Roberts, who was one of the starters to miss a game with illness, found another gear in the fourth as he scored 13 of his team-high 30 points to help give the Bears a one-point lead with about 45 seconds lef...
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