VALDOSTA, Ga. — Keon Williams scored seven of his team-high 18 points in the final minute of overtime to lift Valdosta to a 58-52 win against Region 1-6A rival Coffee on Tuesday night at the VHS gymnasium.

The Wildcats (10-7, 1-1) shot 5-of-10 at the free throw line in the fourth quarter and the first seven minutes of overtime, allowing the Trojans (8-6, 1-1) to stay within striking distance and tie the game at 50-50 with a minute remaining.

Seconds later, Williams knocked down his fifth 3-pointer of the contest to give Valdosta a 53-50 lead, and after Coffee hit a pair of free throws, Williams responded by coldly knocking down a pair of his own.

On the Trojans’ ensuing offensive possession, Williams battled underneath to snagged a crucial defensive rebound before being fouled and knocking down two more from the charity stripe to secure the victory.

“Keon came up big for us in the end,” said Valdosta boys coach Antonio Haynes. “He’s a shooter, so he got some daylight and he let it fly, and he shot it with confidence, that’s the big thing.

“In the closing moments of the game when the game is tight, a lot of people start to tense up in those moments Keon just let it fly because he’s a shooter. At the free throw line, he took his time, focused on the rim and knocked down four big free throws…”

Williams had the highest point total of any Wildcat player Tuesday — Jayce Moore led the Trojans with 19 points — but he was far from the only shooter on the court.

Valdosta knocked down 11 total 3-pointers against Coffee, including four in the first quarter.

As a matter of fact, 12 of the Wildcats’ 13 points in the first quarter came via the 3-ball. Valdosta didn’t make a 2-point basket until a minute into the second quarter, and it finished the first half with just two 2-point baskets compared to six 3-pointers as Coffee focused on packing the paint.

“You’ve got to take what the defense gives you and tonight they gave us the drive-and-kick for the 3-point,” Haynes said. “We did a good job at just catching it, locking in and just knocking it down.

“You’ve got to credit the guards. They did a good job at finding those guys.”

Valdosta’s 3-point barrage fueled a 12-2 run to open the game, but Moore completed 3-point plays the old-fashioned way on two consecutive trips to carry Coffee back into the game.

The Wildcats clung to a 23-22 lead at halftime, but the Trojans overtook them in the third quarter to take a 33-31 advantage into the final quarter.

Although it was the 3-ball that got Valdosta’s it’s early lead, it was the Wildcats’ defense that allowed them to recapture it late.

Valdosta held Coffee without a score for more than six minutes in the fourth quarter. The Trojans’ first basket came with 1:49 remaining in the game.

Holding a five-point lead with less than two minutes left, the Wildcats just couldn’t close and they missed free throws and turned the ball over to allow the Trojans to climb back, eventually tying the game and sending it to overtime on a corner 3 with 20 seconds remaining.

The sloppy play followed Valdosta into overtime until Williams took things upon himself to secure the ‘Cats first region win.

“It’s like they were trying to find ways to lose it,” Haynes said with a laugh. “We’re supposed to be finding ways to win. It was just mental mistakes. Turning the ball over, missing free throws, messing up on assignments at the end.

“When the game gets haywire like that at the end, you need your seniors to step up. Unfortunately tonight, the seniors were the ones to make a couple of mental mistakes. But it’s correctable mistakes. You’ve just got to take care of the basketball.”

Derrick Davis is the sports editor at the Valdosta Daily Times.