For 31 minutes and 59.6 seconds, 3rd-ranked Lexington boys appeared headed to its first defeat of the season Friday night at Dutch Fork High School.

A spinning layup with .4 seconds left by guard Mason Carver gave the Wildcats their first lead of the game. After the final buzzer sounded after the inbounds pass was knocked out of bounds, they celebrated a 46-44 come-from-behind victory to preserve the perfect season.

Carver finished with 18 points in the win, which earned Lexington its first Region 5-5A title since 2013. More important, the Wildcats (24-0, 6-0) extended their school-record in-season winning streak to 24 games.

“Sometimes I’m sure if our guys don’t understand or they just don’t get rattled because we didn’t get rattled and we probably should have gotten rattled,” said Lexington boys’ basketball coach Bailey Harris, who picked up his 632rd career win, the 7th most in S.C. High School League history. “But they kept their cool and their composure.

“Dutch Fork, you’ve got to give them credit. They were just kicking our butts. We didn’t have answers. They got offensive boards. We turned it over. They knew what they wanted to do and take us out of things. They did a really good job. We got fortunate with plays at the end.”

The Silver Foxes (14-8, 4-3) took a 6-0 lead to open the game. They forced 8 turnovers in the first quarter alone in holding Lexington to 4 points.

Dutch Fork’s rapid ball movement throughout the game kept the Wildcats off guard, and key turnovers kept the score in the Silver Foxes’ favor at the half where they led 25-17.

The Wildcats trailed as many as 12 points as Dutch Fork dominated the paint with Dimarco Johnson and Jarvis McClurkin leading the way with 14 points each.

The second half looked to be more of the same with Dutch Fork extending their lead to 10 before a 3-pointer from Jonathan Corley helped cut the deficit to 36-31 at the end of the third quarter.

In the fourth, Lexington’s senior experience began to assert itself against the Silver Foxes. As Dutch Fork missed 3-11 free throws, the Wildcats drew closer in drawing within 44-43 with 1:01 seconds left on a Bradley Foulks free throw

A steal by Foulks, followed by a foul sent Corley to the line where he made 1-2 free throws to tie the game at 44. Dutch Fork’s Jarvis Green missed two free throws following an Alex Reed foul, then Carver lays in a score with .4 of a second remaining.

“The gameplan was great,” Dutch Fork head coach Brett Jones said. “You’ve got to execute down the stretch, hit free throws. You’ve got to make a couple of shots, had too many turnovers.”

“They’re probably the best team in the Lower State. We just played them and probably outplayed them 28-29 minutes. We’ve just got to finish it out.”

(BOYS)

River Bluff 68, Chapin 26

Andrew Robinson scored 22 points, J.T. Reeves had 11 and Malachi Reeves added 10 to lead the Gators (19-4, 4-2).

Brookland-Cayce 52, Midland Valley 46

The Bearcats moved within a victory of reaching the .500 mark following the Region 5-4A win Friday over the Mustangs.

B-C (11-12, 3-5) plays host to Aiken Tuesday.

Pelion 65, Swansea 38

For just the second time since 1982, the Panthers posted their 14th win of the season.

Up next for Pelion (14-9, 4-2) is a first-place showdown at home against Strom Thurmond.

Gray Collegiate 92, C,A. Johnson 37

(BOYS)

River Bluff 68, Chapin 26

Andrew Robinson scored 22 points, J.T. Reeves had 11 and Malachi Reeves added 10 to lead the Gators (19-4, 4-2).

Brookland-Cayce 52, Midland Valley 46

The Bearcats moved within a victory of reaching the .500 mark following the Region 5-4A win Friday over the Mustangs.

B-C (11-12, 3-5) plays host to Aiken Tuesday.

Pelion 65, Swansea 38

For just the second time since 1982, the Panthers posted their 14th win of the season.

Up next for Pelion (14-9, 4-2) is a first-place showdown at home against Strom Thurmond.

Gray Collegiate 92, C,A. Johnson 37