With 0.3 seconds remaining and the game tied at 62, overtime seemed inevitable. But Vikings forward Rodric Starks took the inbound pass and put it through the net, stunning the Milton Panthers and completing Fort Walton Beach’s upset over the area’s clear-cut best team.

• While the final play was incredible, everything leading up to it was just as wild.

The game opened with a defensive first quarter, as both teams had opportunities offensively but missed most of them. The Vikings led 9-6 late in the quarter, but Milton forward Zhailyn Gaines hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to tie it at 9 entering the second.

Both teams traded buckets throughout the second quarter, with Leo Ivision’s 3-pointer putting the Vikings up 18-15 with 4:25 left before halftime. The Panthers responded with a 9-0 run to take a six-point lead with a minute remaining. But Ivision hit two more 3-pointers, including a buzzer-beater, to tie it at 24 at halftime.

To start the second half, both teams traded 3s, with Mateo Robinson of Milton and Sean Simon of Fort Walton Beach respectively hitting them. Following Simon’s 3-pointer, everything fell apart for the Vikings as Milton went on a 14-0 run. The Vikings had turnover after turnover and missed shot after missed shot while Milton had steal after steal and hit three after three. 

• No moment better captured the momentum than Panthers guard Sergio Robinson having back-to-back dunks with no Viking in sight to stop him.

But the Vikings stayed together and battled back. With 3:21 left in the third quarter, point guard Xy Childress stole the ball and passed it to Ivision, who hit a 3-pointer that stopped the bleeding. Simon came up with a steal and drew a foul, and soon after Childress hit a 3-pointer that cut the Panthers’ lead to six. While Gaines responded with a bucket, Jataveion Jones answered to make it 43-37 Milton. The Panthers ended the quarter on a 5-0 run to make it 48-37 heading into the fourth.

The Vikings opened the quarter with a Starks basket, followed by a sequence where Simon grabbed a rebound, took it down the court and passed it around before it ended up in Ivision’s hands for another 3-pointer to make it 48-44. Milton hit another two to make it 50-44, and it stayed that way for a while.

But with 4:47 left in the game, things turned even crazier. Fort Walton Beach got possession and took it down the court, where Ivision hit another 3-pointer. Then Starks rebounded a missed Robinson 3-pointer and passed it to Simon, who hit Ivision for yet another 3-pointer to tie the game. Milton turned the ball over again, and Simon streaked down the court and hit Jones, who sunk a shot to give the Vikings the lead. 

• A foul on Starks resulted in him hitting two free throws that extended Fort Walton Beach’s lead to four.

The Panthers finally got it together, as a rebound on their end resulted in the ball in Kaden Cooper’s hands for a shot to make it 54-52 Vikings. Mateo Robinson had an and-one that gave Milton back the lead at 55-54 with 1:51 remaining.

Fort Walton Beach instantly fired back with a Jordan Lee 3-pointer that gave them back the lead at 57-55 with 1:32 remaining. Lee hit another shot with 1:05 remaining to make it 59-55 Vikings. But the Panthers went on a 5-0 run that gave them back the lead with 40.7 seconds remaining.

• Once again, Ivision hit a clutch 3-pointer to make it 62-60 Vikings with just over 20 seconds left. But a foul sent Mateo Robinson to the line, and he sunk both free throws to tie the game with 17.2 seconds remaining.

Then came the play of the game. 

Following three straight times the ball went out of bounds with the Vikings retaining possession on all of them, the game sat tied at 62 with 0.3 seconds left and overtime looking necessary. Simon inbounded to Starks, who beat the buzzer with his game-winning bucket to make it 64-62 final.

The Vikings crowd went crazy. The Fort Walton Beach student section stormed the court, mobbed Starks and began to chant “I BELIEVE THAT WE JUST WON” while Milton coach Matt Anderson, his players and the Panthers faithful who made the 50-minute drive southeast sat stunned.

• “We got the ball to him and made a shot for him. He got it up, and it went in for us,” Fort Walton Beach coach Chris Carswell said.

Carswell believes the resilience the Vikings showed will help them come playoff time and that this is a statement win proving the Vikings are for real.

“It’s going to help us a lot. Milton’s a great team. They jumped on us, and that you can come back and beat them out at the buzzer, that sends a message to the state that we can play with anybody,” Carswell said.

Carswell also thinks this win could be the start of a special run for a team that hasn’t had one since the 2011 Final Four run.

• “This is a great group right here. They work hard, they love each other, I want them to go as far as possible because they deserve it,” Carswell said.

Fort Walton Beach (15-7) will host Choctaw at home Friday, with the Vikings having revenge for Camry Johnson’s buzzer-beater fresh on their minds.

Milton (18-3) will host Gulf Breeze at home Thursday.