JACKSONVILLE (SportsDay Media) – Ariel Hearn’s three-point shot as time expired in regulation forced overtime, but a dominating performance by Greensboro’s Diamond Johnson helped seal a 94-90 victory for the Groove over the Jacksonville Waves Thursday afternoon at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena. The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the first place Waves (17-5). The back-and-forth game finished with nine lead changes, and a dramatic regulation ending. In the final two minutes, Greensboro found itself trailing 72-69, but a 5-0 individual run by Diamond Johnson, who netted a three-pointer and then managed a steal that led to a fastbreak layup in a matter of seconds, gave the Groove a 74-72 edge. Jacksonville countered with a three-point bucket from Ariel Hearn (pictured above) to give the Waves the lead back 75-74 with 37 seconds remaining. The see-saw battle continued as Greensboro took a 78-75 edge in the waning seconds. Trailing by three, with 2.5 seconds remaining in regulation, the Waves would inbound the ball and find an open Hearn behind the arc. Hearn tossed up a shot as the buzzer sounded that perfectly banked off the backboard and into the net to tie the game at 78 and force overtime, igniting a lively celebration. In the extra session, Diamond Johnson continued to be an issue for the Waves on this day, and the Groove would take the game 94-90. Johnson finished with a game-best 30 points, and the Groove outdueled the Waves in the paint 50-32.Jacksonville’s Rennia Davis posted a double-double with 21 points and 14 boards.
The tw
Photos by Jim Brady/JaxSportsDay.com
