Brookwood's Kyle Ostrom looks for an open teammate with a Tallavana defender guarding him on Thursday.

THOMASVILLE — On Day 2 of Brookwood’s Holiday Hoops Classic, the hosts’ girls team was 2:15 away from pulling off a comeback win over Flint River in regulation. 

Their opponents were not ready to make it that easy.

Brookwood lost its lead late in the fourth, but a 3 from Erin Lewis with 30 seconds left tied the game, eventually leading to a 40-35 overtime win at Joe and Mary Beverly Athletic Center on Thursday night. Later on in the day, the boys cruised to a 72-31 win over Tallavana.

At the end of three, the Brookwood girls held a 24-18 lead over the Wildcats, but in the fourth, the Warriors began to make some mistakes in passing and ball control. Flint River took full advantage, starting with a 3 to narrow the Warriors’ lead to 25-21.

With just over two minutes left to play, the Wildcats tied the game up at 29. Brookwood coach Kim Taylor called a timeout.

“I just told them that they had this,” she said. “They needed to believe it, make good passes, calm down and play smart. I had confidence in them that they were going to win, and they needed to believe that.”

It took a little bit of time for those words to take effect, as the Wildcats took their first lead since the third at 32-29 with 1:25 left. Eventually Brookwood had to foul for a possession with under a minute to go. After the Wildcats missed both ensuing free throws, Lewis caught a pass from Jordan Burns and connected on the game-tying basket from beyond the arc, forcing overtime at 32-32 after the Warriors engineered a stop.

In overtime, Burns and Jordan Thompson put their team ahead for good, each scoring four points in the extra period as the Warriors took the thrilling win.

Taylor played a big role in the scheduling for the event, and has stated that she wanted her young squad to face some challenging teams. Flint River was the game she deemed the most important and felt like it would be the toughest matchup of the classic.

“I think this is going to change us,” Taylor said. “We needed to play close to somebody so we could feel the pressure and overcome it. The girls earned it. They showed that they can beat somebody when adversity hits.”

The end of the game wasn’t the only time Brookwood had to overcome those adverse situations. In the first quarter, Flint River jumped out to an early 10-4 lead, but a Mollie Vick 3 in the second jumpstarted the Warriors offense after a slow start, leading to a slim 14-12 Wildcat advantage at the half.

Holland Walker tied the game at 16 early in the third, as Brookwood finally broke through with a six-point lead headed into the action-packed fourth.

Walker played a big part for Warriors on the night with seven rebounds and nine points. Burns led the team in points with 11 and added five rebounds.

From the very beginning of their game, Brookwood’s boys had full control over Tallavana. Christopher Watt led the Warriors out of the gate with two 3s and 8 points in the first. After Eli Miller scored on a fast break, Brookwood led 22-10 and never looked back.

Kyle Ostrom added 10 points and two 3s in the second, and Christian Bell had 9 in the third. With a commanding 64-28 lead after three frames, the Warriors pulled their starters for the fourth.

Bell led the boys with 18 total points. Watt and Ostrom completed the game with 11 and 15, respectively.