Jon Andrews hit a 4-footer off the glass as time expired to give PCA its only lead of the game in a 57-56 win against Port St. Joe in the Region 1-2A championship.

Matt Goetsch assited on the game's final shot, but his three-point shooting proved to be the difference.

Goetsch hit eight 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 30 points for the Warriors.

"It's what you'd expect your senior leader to do — he kept us in the game when it wasn't going well for us," PCA coach Jim Schneider said. "Of course Jon Andrews hit a big shot — he hadn't made a basket all night, but he stayed with it when it counted."

Things looked bleak for the Warriors (23-3) as the Tiger Sharks got out of the gates with a quick 12-0 lead. But PCA hung in and fed off the emotions of the home crowd to earn the win.

PCA was held scoreless until Mike Goetsch hit a free throw with 3:04 remaining in the opening quarter.

PCA managed to pull within 14-7 following a pair of three's by Mike Goetsch, but the Tiger Sharks answered with five straight points to close out the period.

With the score 28-16 late in the half, PCA made it a 10-point game on a layup by Mark Heinold, then ended the half with a pair of 3-pointers to pull within six point, 30-24, at the break.

The Warriors made it a one-point game and forced Port St. Joe to call timeout with 4:27 remaining in the third quarter, but the tiger Sharks answered again, going on a 12-4 run to end the period with a 46-38 lead.

The Tiger Sharks appeared on their way to their third trip to Lakeland with a 52-39 lead midway through the final quarter, but their offense soon hit a dry spell, and PCA quickly took advantage.

Trailing by eight with 1:21 left, Jeremy Riche was fouled on a three-point attempt. Riche knocked down all three free throws to pull the Warriors within 56-51. After Port St. Joe missed at the line, Mike Goetsch found Matt Goetsch from downtown with less than a minute remaining.

The Tiger Sharks failed to convert at the other end, and Mike hit a free throw to make it a one-point game with 20.5 seconds left in regulation.

Another missed free throw proved costly as Andrews grabbed the defensive rebound and called timeout with 16.7 seconds.

PCA quickly in bounded the ball, avoiding a turnover, and Matt Goetsch found Andrews for the game-clincher with 3.0 seconds on the clock. Port St. Joe's desperation attempt sailed over the basket as several Warrior faithful stormed the court.

"I told them we were going to Disney World — I've never been to Lakeland, but I know it's near there — they just didn't quit tonight," Schneider said. "The crowd was such a positive for us. We really fed off their energy.

"It was like they were driving 80 on the interstate and we were going 55 at the start of the game. I think we just got our legs under us, but tonight was just about outside shooting, and we can do that."

Matt Goersch echoed the comments of his coach.

"We just didn't quit—I can't take anything away from those guys," Matt Goetsch said. "I told Jon he was lucky I didn't take the shot—I'm really proud of how we played tonight. A couple of them (three-pointers) were prayers—obviously, they were answered prayers. Honestly, I thought we were gong to lose in the second quarter, but we came out in the second half and played better as team."

Port St. Joe coach Derek Kurnitsky and his players were left wondering what could have been, but was humbled by the Warriors' resiliency.

"It was a great effort by our team tonight—they were just one point better," Kurnitsky said. "They were much better than what we saw on film, especially (Matt Goetsch). They played at a very high level and just made some unbelievable shots."