Upset-minded Western Branch had top-seeded Oscar Smith on the ropes in Wednesday night's semifinals of the Monitor-Merrimac Conference Tournament at Grassfield High School.

The fifth-seeded Bruins led 55-50 with 41.9 seconds to go in regulation. From there, it was all Oscar Smith, staging a dramatic comeback to knock their upstart Chesapeake rival out of the playoffs in a 68-62 overtime affair.

Playing the role of hero for Oscar Smith was senior guard LaShawn Rodgers, who drained a three-pointer as time expired in regulation to force overtime. It was the fifth shot of that possession for the Tigers in a wild sequence where the Bruins seemingly had their hands on a defensive rebound that would've secured an improbable win over a team that had beaten them twice by double-figures during the regular season.

Rodgers scored eight of his 15 points in the fourth quarter or overtime for the Tigers, now 20-2 overall on the season. Oscar Smith's two losses this season came to private schools Norfolk Collegiate and Trinity Episcopal.

Western Branch - starting a pair of freshmen guards in Kendall Bynum and BriQuan Harrell - closes out the season 10-13 overall in their second year under Head Coach Paul Hall.

Many of the statistical categories were in Western Branch's favor at night's end. They out-rebounded the Tigers 44-38 in the contest. Additionally, they were 12-of-18 from the foul line, better than Smith's 10-of-20 (50%).

From three-point distance, the Bruins' 6-of-21 (28.6%) wasn't exactly great. Yet, it was a higher percentage than the Tigers' 25.8% (25.8%), well under the norm for a team that excels shooting the basketball from behind the arc. In terms of field goal percentage, Western Branch's 40.7% was higher than the 37.3% of Oscar Smith as well.

Where did Oscar Smith capitalize? On turnovers. Western Branch turned it over 20 times

Seven of those turnovers by the Bruins came during the final seven minutes of regulation or OT. Oscar Smith's experience shined through in the closing moments, leading to a 15-0 run that spanned the end of regulation and beginning of the extra session.

Dez Devane made only three field goals all game. One was a three-pointer to open the contest. His other trey began the OT, giving the Tigers a 58-55 lead.

Though no starter for Oscar Smith shot above 50% from the field, they got a double-double from senior wing Donald Hicks.

An MVP recipient at the VirginiaPreps.com Classic earlier this month who will play his College Hoops in-state at Redford, Hicks finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds. He also got help from point guard Darin Pugh, chipping in 15 points, eight assists and four steals.

For Western Branch in defeat, senior guard Kishawn Harris led the way with 19 points on 5-of-8 from the foul line. Two nights prior against Grassfield, he finished with 21 points on 13-of-14 shooting at the charity stripe. Harrell contributed 15 points.

The Bruins got 14 rebounds and three blocks from Corey Baskins. Deshaan Dixon, a two-sport standout that also plays football, fouled out with six points and four rebounds. Dixon was a bigger factor against Grassfield with 12 points and eight boards.

Next up for Oscar Smith is a date with Woodside (15-5) on February 19th in the Monitor-Merrimac Conference 2 Championship at Grassfield. Oscar Smith won the regular season meeting, 72-65 back on February 2nd.

Both teams have already locked up regional bids. The importance of the game comes in the form of the winner gets the #1 seed for the 6A-South Region Tournament that gets underway next week. The loser travels to Coastal Conference 1 top seed Kellam.

For Oscar Smith, they've never been to the State Tournament in basketball. All it will take is one regional playoff win to get there as the State Playoff field expands from four teams to eight this year with the addition of quarterfinals. A season ago, the Tigers were bounced in the regional semifinals by eventual State Champ Colonial Forge.

Oscar Smith Tigers 68: (20-2 Overall)
Donald Hicks - 20Pts. 7-19FG, 2-10 3's, 4-7FT, 14Reb.
LaShawn Rodgers - 15Pts. 6-13FG, 3-9 3's, 4Reb. 4Stl.
Darin Pugh - 15Pts. 5-12FG, 5-10FT, 8Ast. 4Stl.
Dez Devane - 8Pts. 3-14FG, 2-10 3's, 4Reb. 3Stl.

Western Branch Bruins 62: (10-13 Overall)
Keshawn Harris - 19Pts. 6-11FG, 2-4 3's, 5-8FT, 4Reb.
BriQuan Harrell - 15Pts. 6-18FG, 2-6 3's, 5Reb.
Kendall Bynum - 9Pts. 3-7FG, 2-6 3's, 3Ast.
Corey Baskins - 6Pts. 2-6FG, 14Reb. 3Blk. 2Stl.

Matthew Hatfield serves as State Basketball Analyst for VirginiaPreps.com, part of the Rivals.com Network, and is a staff writer for Tar Heel Illustrated. Check out Hatfield’s Twitter page for more sports related updates, and you can also read his work in the Suffolk News Herald. To contact Matthew, please e-mail hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com, and don’t forget to listen to him every Saturday at 10AM on ESPN Radio 94.1, plus watch him on the Cox 11 Sports Report.