After a 16-year dry spell, the R.C. Hatch boys basketball team is back on top.

Theotis Dudley and Isiah Thomas combined to score 33 points, LaVonte Witherspoon hit five free throws in the final minute and the Bobcats held off a furious rally by Jayden Parks and Brantley to grab a 69-67 win in the Class 1A championship game Thursday at Legacy Arena.

It’s R.C. Hatch’s first title since 2008 and AHSAA-record 11th boys crown overall. The Bobcats had been tied with St. Jude with 10 each.

“This really means a lot,” said R.C. Hatch coach Kris Hood, who didn’t coach a year ago after having shoulder surgery. “Basketball has been down for a minute here, but it brought this community and the surrounding areas together. It really feels good to win it. I did not want to let the fan base down. We owed it to them because they’ve been so good to us.”

The Bobcats (23-4) trailed 37-28 in the beginning stages of the second half after a 7-0 Brantley run. That’s when Thomas and Dudley took over. The duo combined to score 15 of their team’s next 17 points. R.C. Hatch took the lead for good at 46-45 on Christopher Clark’s free throw to end the third quarter.

Thomas, named tournament MVP, finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds. He was 9-of-10 from the foul line. Dudley added 16 points and 6 rebounds.

“Isiah has been playing really good for us,” Hood said. “He gave us a lot in the first and second quarter. Our game plan was to win every quarter, but we lost the first and the second. At the half, we talked to Theotis and Merion (Jones) and told them we really need them. We needed to win this game together. Brantley was a very good team, and they did not let us go easily.”

R.C. Hatch seemed to have the game firmly in control late, pushing the lead to 59-51 on a pair of Witherspoon free throws with 1:50 left. Meanwhile, Parks, Brantley’s electric scoring guard, had struggled a bit as he watched numerous shots roll off the rim in the second half.

“In the third quarter especially, I was struggling to hit some shots,” he said. “I just couldn’t get them to go in. I finally found my rhythm in the fourth, but it was a little too late.”

Parks scored 16 points in the final two minutes of the game, including four 3-pointers. He finished with 44 points on 43 shot attempts. He was 6-of-15 from 3. Two of his last three 3-pointers cut the R.C. Hatch lead to three.

“He’s a very good player,” Hood said. “I thought we had something for him on defense. We were picking him up full court, trying to wear him down. I thought it slowed him down a little, but you have to give him credit. I didn’t panic at the end because I knew they were out of timeouts.”

Witherspoon’s free throws along with one each from Thomas and Dudley kept the Bobcats on top despite Parks’ heroics.

Stat sheet: R.C. Hatch – Witherspoon finished with 13 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. He was 7-of-10 from the foul line. Jones had 10 points and 7 rebounds. His emphatic dunk late in the final quarter brought the large crowd to its feet. Brantley – Parks was 18-of-43 overall from the field. He also had 4 assists, 4 steals and 3 rebounds. Julius Sylvester followed with 9 points and Jon Harper Kilcrease had 8.

By the numbers: R.C. Hatch had a 42-28 rebounding edge that included 15 offensive rebounds. The Bobcats went 21-of-31 from the foul line compared to just 4-of-7 for Brantley.

“We struggled all year to rebound the basketball,” Brantley coach Andre Parks said. “We are not a big team. We pride ourselves on playing fast and shooting the 3. Teams like R.C. Hatch give us problems. They did a good job of rebounding the ball, and I thought that proved to be the difference.”

Did you know? R.C. Hatch’s other 10 state title came in 1978, 1985, 1987, 1994, 1995, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008.

They said it:

“I don’t think there is one person left in Uniontown.” – Hood on the R.C. Hatch crowd.

“You just have to want it.” – Thomas on winning the state title.

“Coach always told me not to panic. I shoot a lot of free throws in practice. We have to make 10 in a row before we leave practice so tonight wasn’t a big deal.” – Witherspoon on his key free throws down the stretch.

“I know it hurts right now, but the sun will come up tomorrow. The journey to get here has been phenomenal.” – Andre Parks.

“That’s how basketball is sometimes. We hit a stretch where we were struggling to finish. Jayden was getting good looks. It seemed like the basket had a lid on it. Credit No. 11 (Thomas). He did a great job of contesting without fouling. He (Jayden) did get it going eventually. That’s just how this game is sometimes. Maybe if we had another minute, we would have been the first team in the press conference and been taking a blue map to Brantley. I feel like we didn’t lose a game, we just ran out of time.” – Andre Parks on his son Jayden getting hot late.

“It was a great season. A lot of people say it’s not about the journey but the people you are with, and I couldn’t agree more. Jayden and I have been playing together since we were 5 in Upward. We left it all on the court. Just came up short.” – Kilcrease.