Chris Bolden made two free throws for the lead with 28 seconds left for Norcross, which came from 10 points behind in the fourth quarter to defeat Milton 59-55 on Friday night in the Class AAAAA final at Gwinnett Arena.
After Bolden’s free throws, Milton’s Evan Nolte missed a 3-pointer, and teammate Jordan Loyd was fouled on the scurry for the rebound. But Loyd missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Norcross rebounded with seven seconds left.
Bolden made two more free throws to clinch it.
Norcross became the 11th school in history to sweep the boys and girls titles in one season. Norcross’ girls beat McEachern in an earlier final. Norcross is only the second to sweep the titles in the big school division, first since Murphy in 1958.
Milton led 49-39 with six minutes left, but Bolden scored nine in the final quarter, including a 3-pointer.
Milton (29-3) was the defending champion and was ranked No. 3 nationally in three polls. It returned its starting five intact from 2010.
It was a revenge match for Norcross, which lost to Milton in the 2010 quarterfinals when Milton’s Julian Royal made two free throws with no time left in a one-point victory.
This Norcross team lost six of its first nine games, but won its final 17. Milton’s 19-game winning streak was snapped.
With 1:31 left, E. Victor Nickerson of Norcross made a 3-pointer from the corner and was fouled. He missed the free throw for the lead, but Royal was called for a foul on the scramble for the rebound. Jason Croom went to the line. He missed both free throws.
Milton held the ball until the final 40 seconds, but threw it away, giving Norcross its chance, with Bolden on the line with 28 seconds to play.
Bolden finished with 13 points. Nickerson led Norcross with 15. Alonzo Nelson-Ododa had 13 points and 14 rebounds.
For Milton, Shannon Scott scored 16 points and Nolte 15.
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