MADISON — Pillow Academy squandered a 12-point lead in the final three minutes and wound up losing 76-69 in overtime to Jackson Prep in the first round of the State AAA Tournament here Wednesday at Madison-Ridgeland Academy.
It was a frustrating ending to a rocky season for PA coach Steven Makamson, who announced three weeks ago he was stepping down at the end of the season as part of a career change.
The Mustangs' season ended at 18-13, giving Makamson a 116-71 mark in his six seasons at Pillow.
"That was a tough way to go out. We wanted to win a few more games and keep our season alive," said Makamson. "It's been a great six years. It's been a good run, and I am proud of what we've done."
The Mustangs built a 56-44 lead with just under three minutes to play after back-to-back driving layups from Mitch Taylor.
Taking advantage of Pillow turnovers and some quick shots, Prep quickly made up ground - outscoring the Mustangs 20-8 the rest of the way.
In fact, PA sophomore Jackson Pannell had to hit a 3-pointer from the left wing with less than two seconds left to force overtime.
"Prep started picking us up at half court with pressure, and we just didn't handle it well," Makamson said. "We had some turnovers and one or two shots we might not should have taken."
Junior point guard De Graeber scored six of his team-high 22 points in the four-minute extra period to help Prep pull away for the win.
The only points Pillow came by in overtime was a free throw from Pannell and a late 3-pointer from senior point guard Sam Shipley, who pumped in a career-high 28 points in his final game with the Mustangs.
Junior Gaston Lyon had 16 points and five rebounds, and Pannell had eight points and six rebounds.
Pillow led 13-12 at the end of the first period and got a last-second layup from Ja'Quez Taylor for a 34-24 lead at the half.
The Mustangs led by as many as 11 in the third and was up 45-39 heading into the final period. PA then went on an 11-5 run to take a 12-point lead, its biggest of the game, before things started to fall apart down the stretch.
• Contact Bill Burrus at bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com.
