Unfortunately for the Navy-and-White, they ended their season in similar fashion.
Gordon Lee, winners of 19 consecutive games since that season-opening loss, saw their streak come to an end at the hands of the rival Bulldogs with another three-point setback on Saturday, falling 49-46 in the finals of the North Georgia Athletic Conference championship game at Heritage Middle School.
Trion, the tournament's No. 2 seed, jumped out to an 11-5 lead, but Gordon Lee would tie the game at 11 and again at 14 before a Gavin Roberson three-pointer 30 seconds into the second quarter capped a 12-3 run and gave the Trojans a 17-14 advantage.
But Isiah Foster and Ty Reynolds combined for all the points as Trion answered with a 9-0 run, and although Gordon Lee would respond with a 6-0 spurt to tie the game at 23, they would never take the lead again.
A 7-2 run over the final 1:14 of the first half put the Bulldogs up 30-25 at intermission. The Trojans would pull back within a single point three times in the third quarter, but another late Trion run gave them a 42-38 lead entering the fourth quarter.
A bucket by Jarrett Pierce stretched the lead to six at the 6:22 mark, but Gordon Lee would score five straight points over the next 2:42 to slice the lead back to one at 44-43.
Two free throws by Foster and a basket by Issac Foster pushed the Bulldogs' lead back to five with 2:15 to play, and Isiah Foster's steal with 40 seconds remaining appeared to have sealed the win. But an errant shot attempt gave the Trojans new life, and Roberson buried a three-pointer with 22 seconds left to make it a one-possession game at 48-46.
A turnover on the inbounds pass got the ball back for Gordon Lee, but they threw it away with 12.8 seconds left and were forced to foul. Pierce missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Issac Foster missed a free throw attempt after getting fouled on the offensive rebound.
After a steal, Isiah Foster connected from the line with 5.9 seconds to play, but missed the second attempt to give the Trojans one final chance to tie the game. However, Gordon Lee's desperation heave from 60 feet out was well off the mark, giving Trion the tournament title.
Isiah Foster had 25 points, five rebounds, and two steals on his way to being named the MVP. Issac Foster finished with nine points and eight rebounds, while Pierce added six points.
Chaney Rogers battled foul trouble, but had a team-high 18 points for Gordon Lee to go with six rebounds. Roberson had 14 points, while Caleb Boyd added nine points and eight rebounds to go with two blocked shots.
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