MILTON - Southern Columbia's entire season was built on an impossible comeback.
The Tigers battled back from a 3-7 start through the first 10 games and made the playoffs at 11-11.
Senior Ian Stout, the big guy in the middle the Tigers were counting on, overcame incredible odds after a knee injury last year to see any time before injuring his other knee and missing the majority of the season.
After their last-second loss to Hughesville, Jake Morton, the only Tigers' starter over 6-feet tall, broke a bone in his hand.
But, at every opportunity to toss in the towel, they instead rose to the occasion.
So it should come as no surprise that, down by 14 points to Loyalsock in the fourth quarter of the District 4 Class AA consolation final with a berth in the state playoffs on the line, the Tigers again made things interesting.
Southern cut the Lancers' lead to one with 16.9 seconds remaining after Zach Malett made the first two of a three-shot foul after being hacked on an off-balance 3-point attempt.
The Tigers' Brad Fegley came down with the rebound after Malett's miss and was immediately fouled. With Southern in the bonus, the Tigers' junior had two chances to tie the game.
He missed both.
Sometimes the impossible is just a little beyond reach.
"It's unfortunate for these guys that things couldn't turn out better for them," Southern Columbia head coach Dave Yost said, "but this is what I want Southern basketball to be about - a team that has handled adversity all year long and fought their tails off. If there was ever a group that deserved (to win), it was this group."
Missed foul shots, just like in their game against Hughesville, plagued the Tigers.
The misses became an issue, not just toward the end, but in the third quarter as well.
Midway through the third quarter, Loyalsock had already committed its seventh foul, sending Southern to the line for a series of 1-and-1 opportunities.
With Loyalsock hitting the boards hard and scoring twos on putbacks from Tyler Bogaczyk and Roger wilson, the Tigers desperately needed makes from the free throw line to keep pace with the Lancers.
Bogaczyk finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds, while Wilson nearly had a double-double also with 11 points and eight boards.
"We knew our ultimate goal was to keep those guys extended," Yost said. "We tried to press them a little bit, keep them away from the basket. We were at a disservice trying to play with them and match up in the paint. They definitely used their height to their advantage in key situations."
But Southern's offense was hapless as it watched the deficit grow from seven, to eight, to 10, and finally settle at 14 with just over two minutes to play in the game.
That's when Tigers' defense forced turnovers on four-straight Loyalsock possessions.
Malett, who finished with 12 points, began to chip away at the lead with six-straight points to cut it to eight.
A layup by Fegley and two free throws by Casey Savitski had the Tigers within four.
The rally was on.
With time flying by, the Tigers needed to stop the clock by putting the Lancers on the line. Loyalsock's Ethan Moore left the window cracked for Southern by making only one-of-two foul shots three straight times, while Alex Fidler, who led Southern in scoring with 15 points, fought hard under the basket on two straight possessions to cut the Lancers' lead to three.
That's when Malett threw up an unlikely prayer and was fouled, and the rest, as they say, is history.
"I love this team," Yost said. "They've been the most phenomenal kids, and I couldn't be more proud of them. We were coming in with the three biggest players on our team injured, not starting a kid over 6-foot against a team that's much bigger than us. We fought like warriors to the end. It was just amazing."
Loyalsock moves on to the state tournament to face Riverside, the champ out of District 2, at a site and time to be announced.
Game Summary
District 4 Class AA
Consolation Final
SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (57) - Klebon 4 0-0 9, Malett 2 6-10 12, Fidler 7 1-2 15, Parry 0 1-3 1, Anskis 0 1-2 1, Fegley 3 7-12 13, Savitski 1 4-5 6, Medon 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 20-34 57.
LOYALSOCK (60) - Fry 3 4-4 12, Casale 0 1-2 1, Oeler 0 0-0 0, Moore 4 4-8 4, R. Bogaczyk 1 0-0 2, Kurtz 3 2-3 8, Wilson 4 3-7 11, Haladay 1 0-0 2, T. Bogaczyk 7 6-9 20. Totals 19 20-33 60.
Southern 14 9 9 25 - 57
Loyalsock 15 15 10 20 - 60
3-point FGs: Klebon, Malett 2, Fry 2.