Jaime Epperly made sure he sent the Good Hope fans home happy on homecoming night.

The junior’s four clutch free throws in the final minute helped perserve a 66-61 win for the Raiders over the Cold Springs Eagles.

On the girls’ side, Cold Springs dominated on both sides of the court in a 76-42 tune-up over Good Hope before the area tournaments begin next week.

– Good Hope 66, Cold Springs 61 (boys): The Eagles overcame a 14-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to cut the Raider lead to two at 63-61 with 43 seconds remaining in the game.

But Epperly was clutch for the Raiders in the final minutes.

After the Raiders missed the front-end of a one-and-one opportunity from the foul line, Cold Springs had a chance to tie or take the lead with less than 30 seconds remaining. But Epperly knocked the ball free from the hands of Justin May in the post to give the Raiders possession.

After a timeout, Epperly was fouled with 14 seconds remaining, sending him to the line for a one-and-one to seal the victory.

“I was pretty nervous at the line,” Epperly admitted, “but I had confidence I would hit the shots.”

He delivered on both shots to put the game out of the Eagles’ reach for good.

“Our free throw shooting has been our Achilles heal all year,” said Good Hope coach Brandon Talley. “That’s a big reason we’ve lost 10 close games this season. But Epperly stepped up and hit those at the end to help us hold on.”

Epperly finished the game with 13 points on the night and finished 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.

Senior Nick Walling scored 15 points for the Raiders in what may have been his final home game of the season, while Jared Ibrahim led the team with 16 points and hit the craziest shot of the night.

With time winding down in the third quarter, a closely-guarded Ibrahim dribbled up to the top of the key and fired a trey at the buzzer which bounced off the glass and in, giving the Raiders their biggest lead of the ball game.

That shot summed up what kind of night it was for both squads.

“It was senior night and homecoming so it was the biggest crowd we have had this season,” Talley said. “I just think our guys wanted this game a little more.”

Also scoring for the Raiders were Alex Richter with nine, Nathan Brown with five, Jerrod Fite with four, Matt Blackmon with three and Brody Whitlock with one.

Despite the loss, Cold Springs received strong efforts from Jared Hogeland and Justin May. Hogeland finished with a game-high 26 points, while May added 23 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter.

However, early offensive struggles from the Eagles prevented them from winning their last contest before hosting their area tournament next week.

“I am proud of the way we played in the fourth quarter, but we had just dug ourselves a huge hole,” said Cold Springs coach Tim Burleson. “We didn’t play for three quarters and then we decided to play too late.”

Cold Springs led 14-12 after the first quarter, but Walling sparked a 9-2 run at the end of the first half to give the Raiders a 33-26 lead at the break. Good Hope never trailed in the second half.

Also scoring for the Eagles were Matt Williams with five, Keith Gann with four and Heith Fields with three.

Cold Springs (20-6) next plays on Thursday at home in the Class 2A, Area 10 tournament.

Good Hope (14-14) faces Danville in the first round of its area tournament which is being played at Hanceville High School beginning on Thursday.

Despite being the third seed, Talley and his players are confident heading into the tourney.

“With the games being at Hanceville, I think we have a home court advantage,” Talley said. “If we play as hard as we have the last two game, then we have a great shot to win the area.”

– Cold Springs 76, Good Hope 42 (girls): The Lady Eagles held the Lady Raiders to 11 first-half points as they cruised to a big win.

Tiffany Campbell led the Lady Eagles with 26, who have only lost one game since the Christmas break. They travel to Cleveland for the Class 2A, Area 10 tournament next week.

“I think we’re playing real well right now,” said Cold Springs coach Tammy West. “Tiffany has played a lot better lately and seems to have a lot more confidence. It’s important that we win our area tournament so we can host a sub-regional. We play a lot better at home and that makes it easier for us to get to Wallace.”

Natalie Mullins scored 16 points, while also finding ways to get some of the younger girls involved in the offense late in the game. Freshman Paige Parker, who made her first varsity start in place of a sick Dusten Harbison, scored eight points.

Also scoring for Cold Springs were Jaclyn Carden with seven, Dusten Harbison with seven, Jesse Harbison with five, Baileigh Davis with three, Beth Brasher with two and Keisha Rice with two.

“Paige played great tonight,” West said of the youngster. “She hit a couple of good shots and made some smart moves on defense. All of the younger girls played good tonight. I’m real proud of them.”

Good Hope’s lone bright spot was Heather Buchanan who caught fire in the second half. Buchanan hit six treys after halftime to finish with 25 points on the night.

Also scoring for the Lady Raiders were Whitney Fowler with eight, Natalie Corser with six and Samantha Stone with three.

Good Hope (10-15) travels to Danville on Thursday for the first round of its area tournament.

Cold Springs (22-6) will in the first round of its tournament at Cleveland on Thursday.