Monday night Pinecrest advanced to the finals of the Lady Patriot Holiday Basketball Invitational in dramatic fashion. A short jumper by Ivory Ferguson at the buzzer sent the Patriots to the title game as they defeated the Southern Lee Cavaliers 49-48.

As play entered the final quarter, the Patriots held a 39-32 lead and extended it to 46-36 with 2:13 left to play. However, Southern Lee stormed back, as Pinecrest turned the ball over several times and missed several free throws down the stretch. The Cavaliers grabbed a 48-47 lead with 11 seconds to play, setting up the contest's climatic conclusion.

Tonight's 7:30 p.m. championship game will feature a rematch, but not the one local fans had hoped to see. Scotland County defeated the Union Pines Vikings 49-39 in the Monday's first game. Scotland visited Pinecrest last week and defeated the Patriots 62-42 using a 17-3 run to close out the game.

The consolation game that tips off at 6 p.m. tonight, is an all Cape Fear Valley Conference bill and also features a rematch. Southern Lee lost 54-44 to the Vikings at Union Pines early last week.