PHOTOS: Ocoee Middle falls 45-43 to Apopka in county championship

In front of a packed gym on the West Orange High campus, the Ocoee Middle Cardinals (8-2) fought Apopka tooth-and-nail before falling 45-43 in overtime of the county championship game on Thursday, March 13.

Following a 65-58 double-overtime win in the Final Four against Lockhart Middle on Wednesday, March 6, the Cardinals came into Thursday's game with a championship on their mind against Apopka — who beat the Cardinals earlier for the division championship.

After a back-and-forth game, which saw Ocoee and Apopka trade blow after blow, the Cardinals found themselves down 42-40 with just 40 seconds to go and needing to make something happen. Then, with just one second left on the clock, the Cardinals were fouled on a shot — sending Ahlston Ware to the line where he hit two free throws to tie the game.

What followed was a fast-paced overtime that saw Apopka take the lead, before a three-pointer from Ocoee missed its mark at the buzzer to cap off another epic game for the Cardinals.