Southern Falls to Malvern in OT, Ending Historic Dream Season

A steal and two free throws by Malvern's Barkley late in overtime sealed a 58-56 defeat for the Southern Tornadoes on Thursday night in Columbus, closing the door on one of the most remarkable seasons in the program's recent history.

Southern had ridden a 20-game win streak into the regional semifinal, fresh off the program's first district title in 17 years. The Tornadoes were one win away from reaching the regional final for the first time since 1982. That dream ended two points short.

Brinager carried Southern throughout the night, finishing with a game-high 26 points, 12 rebounds and five steals. Kase Nelson added 12 points and five boards, and Chandler contributed six points, five rebounds and five assists. When Southern had one final possession after Barkley's clutch free throws, Nelson scored two points as the buzzer sounded, but Malvern held on at 58-56.

Coach Caldwell spoke after the game about what this senior class meant to the school and to Vinton County.

"What these guys have done for Southern and for our community, it's hard to put into words. Just look at the crowd tonight, the support, the young kids at school looking up to them. I've been told by parents that all their kids in first and second grade know all of our kids by name," Caldwell said. "People are so excited to come to games and have a chance to cheer for them. This senior class has played a big part in that. They kept working and working and they brought it back. Hopefully the younger guys will learn from them, but those guys are going to go on and do some great things after high school."

The Tornadoes will graduate five seniors: Chandler, Wickline, Nelson, Noah Leachman and Paxtyn Hoffman. Their tenure leaves Southern with a district championship banner it had not hung since 2009 and a regional stage the program had not reached in over four decades.