TROY — All DeMarcus Cousins needed Friday was a phone booth to complete his transformation into Superman.
The 6-foot-10 Cousins, playing for the first time since being named a McDonald's All-American, scored 35 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead top-ranked LeFlore to a 70-65 victory over No. 2 Eufaula and into the 5A state tournament next week.
The Rattlers trailed by five points inside the last two minutes of the South Regional final before Cousins took over, making just about every key play as the Rattlers (29-2) ended the game with a 10-0 run.
I just couldn't let my team down,
said Cousins, who scored 15 of LeFlore's 19 points in the fourth quarter and was named the tournament MVP. It's my last year. I did everything in my power, in my strength, to get us a win.
The Rattlers play in the state tournament Friday at 1:30 p.m. in Birmingham.
Against Eufaula, LeFlore grabbed the lead in the opening minutes, but the Rattlers never led by more than 10 points. The Tigers (30-2) rallied to tie the game at 53-all on Calvin Thomas' breakaway dunk with 6:56 to play, took the lead on Joshua Jones' three-point play 21 seconds later, then built a 63-58 lead on Lazabian Jackson's free throws with 1:41 to go.
But Cousins was just getting started.
He caught an inbounds pass against Eufaula's press and dribbled through traffic for a coast-to-coast lay-up to cut the deficit to 63-60.
He added two free throws with 1:18 to go, then stole the inbounds pass, which was knocked out of his hands and out of bounds. He then made a lay-up to cut the deficit to 65-64.
Cousins finally found his kryptonite, missing seven straight free throws in the final minute. But he rebounded his own miss with 40.8 seconds to play and banked in a short jumper for a 66-65 lead.
We knew he was going to be a factor at 6-10,
Tigers coach Mike Henry said. He made a heck of a play.
Cousins finished 7 of 19 at the free-throw line, and LeFlore made just 16 of 39.
When I kept missing those free throws, I kept telling myself, 'You're letting your team down,'
Cousins said. I just did whatever I could to get us the win. I was just in a panic. Whenever you're in a panic, the real stuff comes out. We came out with a win.
After taking the lead, Cousins trapped Eufaula's Herbert Brooks and forced the 6-2 senior to step on the mid-court stripe for a turnover with 30.2 seconds to go.
Cousins then made 1 of 2 free throws with 7.9 seconds to go for a 67-65 lead, followed by Denzel McDaniels' steal and a three-point play by Kentari Nettles with 0.3 seconds remaining.
Marc, he carried us on his back,
Rattlers senior Darryl Woods said. Offense didn't win that game. Heart won that game for us.
LeFlore coach Otis Hughley could only marvel at Cousins' performance.
W-O-W, to the infinite power,
Hughley said.
