Spain Park’s Sam Wright had no trouble finding room in the paint, and everyone on the court expected the ball to go his way in the final seconds of the Jaguars’ 7A Northeast Regional semifinal on Wednesday.

Instead of feeding the big man underneath, a timeout was called and a perfect play was set up for Zach Gray on an off-ball screen. As he had done many times in practice, he slipped his defense and answered with a game-winning, mid-range jump shot with seconds remaining in overtime.

“It’s how the play was meant to work,” Gray said. “Hunter (Herritt) set a great screen, and I was able to get down there in that space.”

The seventh-ranked Jaguars allowed a furious rally but held on for a 54-52 overtime victory over Sparkman at Jacksonville State’s Pete Mathews Coliseum.

“I’m not real sure (how we did it), our kids showed a lot of poise and grit,” Spain Park coach Chris Laatsch said. “They forced us into some bad plays. I’m proud of our guys. They didn’t fold or quit. They kept chopping wood and were able to hold on.”

Spain Park (24-6) held as much as an 11-point lead late in the third period, but the Senators were able to claw their way back to tie the game at 46-all and send the regional semifinal into overtime.

“They got some tremendously talented players,” Laatsch said. “The thing that makes them tough is they shoot deep 3s. They can get you off balance, and we had to try and mix things up defensively. They’re so tough because they stretch you.”

The Senators used a 7-0 run midway through the fourth frame to trim the lead to a single point with 3:14 remaining in regulation. Both teams battled to a 42-all tie at the 1:37 mark and a last-second layup from Sparkman’s Cameron Jones knotted up the score following a pair of free throws by the Jaguars.

Spain Park broke open a 20-18 halftime lead with a 10-2 run to stretch the advantage to double digits in the third period, but the Senators rallied to pull within eight points entering the fourth period.

Sparkman (20-13) missed its last three shot attempts at the end of the overtime session. The Senators have not made a regional final since 2020.

Star of the Game: Wright. The 6-foot-8 senior center produced a double-double in grabbing a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Did you know? Spain Park advances to its fourth straight regional final and seeks a third consecutive appearance in the state tournament.

Stat sheet: Spain Park – The Jaguars shot 44.7 percent from the field, 42.9 percent on 3-pointers and held a plus-five advantage on rebounding. Gray finished with 11 points and six rebounds, followed by Chase James with six points and three rebounds. Sparkman – The Senators shot a healthy 55.6 percent overall, 33.3 percent from beyond the arc, and forced 13 turnovers that resulted in 16 points. Karmel Montgomery led Sparkman with 13 points, five rebounds and two assists, and Trayton Berger had 11 points, two rebounds and three steals. Cameron Jones and Will Hawkins both had nine points, the former grabbing six rebounds and the latter corralling two steals, and Chase Jackson finished with eight points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Coachspeak: “They have confidence from being here before. That helped, obviously. Our guys executed great. I was so proud of all of our guys stepping up and answering the bell when needed.” — Laatsch

“It was a great year for us. We accomplished a lot. We won over 20 ballgames and these seniors have accomplished a lot in their careers. We hit a slump and could have thrown in the towel, but these guys stepped up and gave everything they had.” — Sparkman’s Jamie Coggins

They said it: “It starts at practice every day. If we didn’t go so hard in practice, we wouldn’t be able to go in games.” — Wright

“We press each other a lot and try to stay poised. That’s what happened to us today.” — James

What’s next? Spain Park advances to the Northeast Regional final, where they’ll face either Huntsville or Oak Mountain, Tuesday, Feb. 21, at Jacksonville State’s Pete Mathews Coliseum.