Published on March 4, 2026 7:35 am
Last Updated on March 4, 2026 7:36 am
BY MILLIE LANGE
MACON — Although Altamont led at the end of the first three quarters, the game wasn’t decided until the final buzzer Tuesday evening at the Class 1A Macon Meridian Boys Basketball Sectional. The Indians pulled out a 61-58 win.
Altamont and Tuscola squared off for the right to advance to the championship game coming up Friday evening. The losers . . . well, they would be headed home and the season would be finished.
And through all the excitement, there was even more as a storm passed through the area causing the lights to flicker and eventually go out just as Cooper McManaway put up a shot for the Indians. Did it count . . . did it not count . . .
Let’s start at the beginning, shall we.
Altamont came out to take a 17-14 opening quarter lead on the Warriors. Kade Milleville connected on two of two at the line and two three-pointers while McManaway hit a three, a two and a free throw and Zaine Miller nailed a three-pointer.
Conner Musgrove proved to be the force for Tuscola. He scored half of his team’s 14 points in that opening period. But that was because Altamont held the Warriors’ leading scorer, Logan Kurtz without a basket.
It was no different through the next period. The two teams battled again but it looked like Altamont had taken control, pushing into a seven point lead. Parker Bell scored seven points while McManaway connected for four.
But that lead fizzled away as Tuscola outscored the Indians 17-15 and pulled within 32-31 at halftime.
Here came the Warriors in the third quarter. They went on a 9-2 run in the first three minutes to move ahead 40-34.
But the scrappy Indians went on a run of their own and with 20 seconds remaining, Kade Milleville drove the lane, drawing two defenders and dropped a pass to Blake Berg who hit a layup to pull Altamont within one.
With 9.2 ticks on the clock, Tuscola inbounded to Logan Kurtz in the corner for a three, which he missed. McManaway grabbed the rebound and threw an outlet pass ahead to Berg who beat the buzzer with a layup to give Altamont the lead back at 45-44.
Now it was down to the final quarter and it didn’t look good. Tuscola scored the first five points to take a 48-45 advantage. The Warriors were up 52-48 when Altamont got a rebound and a pass was thrown to McManaway who was behind the defense as he caught the ball. That’s when the lights started to flicker. McManaway made a left hand layup as the lights went out.
After a delay, the scoreboard came back on to reveal the officials counted the basket and Altamont was within 52-50.
McManaway drove for a layup after a steal and was fouled but missed the free throw. K. Milleville then drove from the left wing into the lane and got a six foot shot to bounce in surrounded by three defenders.
Down by two with under two minutes remaining in the game, Tuscola worked the ball and missed a three that was reboundd by Parker Bell who was fouled and made both free throws to tie the score.
The next trip, Tuscola again fired another three that missed and was rebounded by Cooper Pals and he was fouled. Pals made both free throws putting the Indians up by two points.
Tuscola then put up another three from Kurtz on the right wing and it circled the rim and popped out. McManaway rebounded within 3.2 seconds left and was fouled. He missed the first attempt but made the second for the 61-58 lead.
After a time out, Tuscola pushed the ball to the right wing but couldn’t get off a shot ahead of the buzzer and Altamont will be competing in the sectional championship.
The Indians were led in scoring by McManaway with 21 points on seven field goals, one a three-pointer, and six of 10 at the line. K. Milleville ended with 14 points on four field goals, two of those three-pointers, and two of four at the line.
Tuscola was led by Kurtz with eight field goals, two three-pointers, and two of two at the line for 17. Musgrave chipped in with 15. The Warriors ended the season with a 28-7 record.
Altamont (24-10) will now face either Lawrenceville or Casey-Westfield Friday evening for the championship. Those two teams play tonight at 7 p.m.
Macon Meridian Sectional
ALTAMONT (61)
Co. Pals 1-2 — 4, McManaway 7-6 — 21, K. Milleville 4-4 — 14, Bell 3-2 — 9, Berg 2-0 — 4, Johnson 1-0 — 2, Miller 2-2 — 7. TOTALS 20 FG, 16 FT.
TUSCOLA (58)
Kurtz 8-2 — 20, Block 2-0 — 6, Musgrave 5-4 — 15, Russo 4-1 — 9, Chenoweth 0-0 — 0, Graves 0-0 — 0, Wallace 2-4 — 8. TOTALS 21 FG, 11 FT.
Altamont 17 15 13 16 — 61
Tuscola 14 17 13 14 — 58
3-point FG — Altamont 5 (K. Milleville 2, McManaway 1, Bell 1, Miller 1), Tuscola 5 (Kurtz 2, Block 2, Musgrave 1).