MACON — For the first time in a decade, the Statesboro Blue Devils are off to the Final Four.
    Battling Rutland, Blue Devils let a 18 point lead slip away over the final 10 minutes. In a tie ballgame with 5.1 seconds to play, Yakeem Coleman drove the length of the court, then found Zaquavian Smith who just barely got a shot off before the buzzer, kissing a leaner off the glass to seal a 60-58 victory and send Statesboro to the Class AAAA state semifinals.
    “It’s incredible,” SHS coach Lee Hill said. “What a great game and an exciting end. Our guys had to fight the whole way. Now it’s down to four teams. Anything can happen.”
    Just about anything and everything did happen in a game that was a huge roller coaster ride — both in the point margin between the two teams and in the emotions of a capacity crowd. The Hurricanes (22-6) led by as many as seven points early on, but Statesboro fought right back.
    The Devils (28-3) then built a big lead of their own and seemed to be pulling away to an easy win, but a spurt of hot shooting and swarming defense pulled Rutland all the way back until Smith’s game-winner.
    In the locker room following the game, Hill was clearly emotional with his team.
    “So many things didn’t go our way,” Hill screamed. “We didn’t hit our shots, we didn’t get calls, we fell behind a great team in the playoffs in their house. But you guys kept your heads up. Look where you’re at now. There’s only four teams still playing, and you’re one of them.”
    That speech set off a celebration that seemed unlikely at the beginning of the night.
    Rutland came out showcasing its quickness and speed, using its transition game to create passing lanes and open shots. Stevante Cromer (18 points) wandered into the paint uncovered for an easy layup to open the scoring and drilled a 3 — one of four for him on the night — to make it a quick 5-0 Hurricane advantage.
    Statesboro continued to struggle getting back on defense in the first eight minutes of action. Blue Devil defenders ran back to get into position and tried to cut off driving Hurricane ball handlers, but frequently left backdoor cuts open for easy buckets.
    The Hurricanes built a 17-10 lead early in the second quarter, but O’Aaron Ware (19 points) single-handedly pulled the Devils back into the game with jumpers on three straight possessions.
    Known for its outside marksmanship, Statesboro failed to connect on a 3 throughout the entire game, but showed their versatility by going inside and taking advantage of Rutland’s shorter lineup.
    “That shows you how tough it was tonight,” Hill said. “We were a little amped up and were missing all of our shots. We never got going outside, but we found a way.”
    Sophomore forward Alex Simmons dominated the paint, scoring 18 points and pulling down 16 rebounds.
    Simmons’ efforts led to a slim Statesboro lead at the half and a put-back from Simmons gave the Devils a commanding 45-27 lead midway through the third.
    But the Hurricanes refused to go down easy.
    Forced to sell out on the press, Jaylon Tyson came up with six steals in the second half. Cromer and Ty’lik Evans each hit 3’s to cut into the lead and a trio of inside buckets from Shakenneth Williams made it a 58-54 Statesboro lead with just under a minute to play.
    Tyson stole the ball away two more times, was fouled on both occasions, and made all four free throws to tie the game with 19.1 seconds to play.
    Smith missed a short jumper, but Coleman was able to get back on defense and keep Williams from converting.
    Catching everyone off balance, Coleman made it down the court in just a few long strides, dishing to Smith for the tough bucket before the rest of the Devils flooded the court in celebration.
    Statesboro now moves on to a Final Four matchup against either Columbia or Marist. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. at Fort Valley State.
    A win will send the Devils to their first state final since 1992.

    Mike Anthony may be reached at (912) 489-9404.