MOBILE, Ala. — Tied at 55-55 with 2.6 seconds left in regulation, Daphne senior point guard Tyler Birch — who wears No. 1— drew a blocking foul at midcourt and made a free throw for a 56-55 Trojan victory Tuesday in the Class 6A boys South Regional at USA’s Mitchell Center.

Daphne advances to the region title game against Murphy’s Panthers who eliminated McGill-Toolen Catholic earlier. The two teams have not met this season. Tip off is set for 8 p.m. this evening.

Trailing Daphne by two, 55-53, the Leopards tied it with nine seconds left and pressed the inbound. By the time Birch had the ball, he was still in the back court with just five tics to go.

“I realized,” he said, “I was not going to get off a good shot by then, so I was looking for the nearest Blount guy and I went toward him and kind of leaned in hoping to get fouled.”

Although the player guarding Birch adjusted well, another Blount player racing to double team him appeared to collide with his teammate and Birch who fell to the floor. Jarod Coleman was charged with the foul.

“It all worked out at the end,” Birch said after the game. “I was confident I could make my free throws, at least one of them.” And he did.

A student of the game, especially observant of good ball-handling guards, Birch said he had often watched Boston Celtic guard Rajon Rondo respond to midcourt pressure that way.

“I’ve watched the NBA and Rondo do it a couple of times and I would rather take a lean-in than just a pull-up anyway. It worked and I got to the free-throw line.”

Daphne head coach Cedric Yelding said he was about to call a time out when the collision happened, but also wanted to see what Birch might do.

“I was about to, but I was going to let it go another second or two. But I also wanted to see how it might play out. Tyler is a very good ball handler and shooter and we all have confidence in him. But before I knew it, that guy came out of nowhere and fouled him. I didn’t know he (Birch) was meaning to lean in on the guy on his hip," he said as he lowered his head and shook off a big smile. “That could have gone either way.”

Many high school coaches tell their players not to mimic NBA stars because some pro-level rules are geared more for the entertainment factor and are less stringent on the fundamentals required in college and secondary schools.

“I don’t mind them watching as long as they know the rules for their level.” Yelding said.

The Trojans led by four at the half and built a 10 point lead, 39-29, late in the third quarter. But Blount stepped up their press and changed the rhythm and tempo of the game in the fourth, Yelding said.

“They got after us in the fourth,” he said. “We went to our half-court zone and defended well, but our rebounding broke down. We lost about three possessions in a row one time. The big difference was we let them disrupt us under the basket too many times. We can do a better job of handling that pressure. Just need to work on rebounding better, stronger, down the stretch.

“We were getting the rebounds, but not securing them well. And we have to do that against Murphy. But I’m proud of how we didn't quit when they came back on us. These guys have worked really hard to get here and I believe this will be the first time in Daphne history that the Trojans have played in a regional championship.”

DHS outshot Blount 63 percent to 52 percent from the field and 55 percent to 44 percent at the free throw line.

Birch and Joe Menefee finished with 11 points each for the Trojans while Preston Soloman led all with a game high 20. Teammates Justin Jackson added eight and T.J. Yeldon had six and had two blocks. Jackson and Vance Jenkins had two steals each, Birch one and Zach Houston scored one big point having drawn a foul in the second half.

Every second-half foul drawn was important as Birch went to the line with the minimum 10 fouls needed on the Leopards for the bonus free-throw.

BHS had 10 players scoring, but no one in double figures. Coleman and Aubrey Riley had nine each to lead the Leopards.