A 3-pointer at the buzzer by Hillcrest Christian Academy senior forward Kentavian Hogan stunned Brookhaven Academy Wednesday night as HCA took a 63-60 win in the opening round of the MAIS 4A South State Tournament at Simpson Academy.

BA ends its season with an 18-11 record.

Cougar head coach Josh Watts said the Hillcrest Cougars are a team that scores quickly off turnovers and transition ahead of the matchup and that scouting report proved to be more than accurate.

Early in the second quarter, back-to-back 3-pointers by senior Dylan Fortenberry puts BA up 23-21.

Hillcrest junior guard Joshua Holley answered with a 3-pointer of his own and then off a BA turnover HCA flew down the court and got a layup by Hogan to retake the lead.

BA would not lead again until 1:50 remained in the game.

Hogan is a long, 6-foot-5 point-forward that has multiple JUCO basketball offers. He led Hillcrest with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Seven of those rebounds were offensive boards.

Hillcrest led 38-34 at halftime and 47-41 after three quarters.

Brookhaven took the lead back late in the game when senior guard Gavin Brogden drove the lane and found Dylan Fortenberry open in the corner for another 3-pointer.

The trip before it was sophomore Trevor Fortenberry who hit a 3-pointer from the opposite corner to make it a two-point game.

Hillcrest quickly took the lead back on a basket by Hogan where he gathered his offensive rebound and scored at the rim.

As easy as the offense came for both teams in the second half, after a Tyler Fortenberry free throw tied the game at 60 — neither team scored over the next 83 seconds as they traded a pair of turnovers.

HCA regained possession with 2.7 seconds remaining and needing to go the length of the court. Hogan ran towards the baseline on the inbound but then turned up court and received the pass near half court. With fouls to give, BA did so to Hogan.

After a timeout, HCA inbounded the ball at half court with 1.6 seconds remaining.

Hogan sprinted towards the sideline to receive the pass, gathered himself with one dribble and nailed a 3-pointer just before the final horn.

It was the second straight season for BA to be knocked out of the MAIS 4A South State Tournament by a buzzer beater as last season Hartfield Academy beat BA with a late layup.

“The kids played hard,” said Watts. “We just made a few too many mistakes to beat a team that good. We turned it over too many times and gave up too many offensive rebounds. I hate it for my seniors to lose like that two years in a row.”

Tyler Fortenberry led the Cougars with 18 points. Dylan Fortenberry and Trevor Fortenberry added 16 points apiece. Brogden chipped in five points while Trey Fortenberry scored three points. Gage Brown scored two for the Cougars.

“Gage was battling an elbow injury and was able to play through it,” said Watts. “We’ll miss his toughness. The senior class of Gage, Dylan, Trey and Gavin aren’t a group of guys that will be easy to replace.”