Heartbreak defined the night for Wekiva High School as the Mustangs erased a massive fourth-quarter deficit but fell on a buzzer-beater in a 64–62 loss at Viera High School in the Class 6A-Region 2 Quarterfinals on Saturday night. 

Wekiva’s furious comeback came up just short when Viera’s point guard sprinted the length of the floor and banked in a contested floater as time expired. 

Viera (20-6) opened the scoring early, but junior Kenny Dieujuste quickly answered by popping into space and knocking down a jumper to begin what became a back-and-forth first quarter. Wekiva applied full-court pressure and forced early turnovers, but the Hawks countered by throwing long outlet passes and finishing inside. 

Dieujuste asserted himself in the post with a tear dropper and followed it with a block. After Viera (21-6) found a cutter for an easy basket, Dieujuste pushed the pace and found junior Eric Nichols for a 3-pointer to give Wekiva its first lead. Moments later, senior Jasen Francillon entered the game and splashed in a 3-pointer. 

Senior Louvens Saint-Pierre helped the surge by rebounding a miss and pushing ahead to Nichols for another trey, forcing a Viera timeout. Nichols continued his scoring run with a pull-up jumper and, despite Viera answering with free throws and a transition layup, Wekiva closed the first quarter up 16–11. 

The momentum shifted in the second quarter as Saint-Pierre opened the period with a free throw, and Wekiva’s press produced another steal that led to a layup by junior Khai Orr. On an inbounds play, Saint-Pierre found DJ Thomas for an and-one conversion that pushed the Mustangs ahead by double digits. 

Viera responded by attacking the paint. A series of baskets inside and second-chance points sparked a run that began to chip away at the lead.  

After a Wekiva timeout, the Hawks continued the scoring inside, taking advantage of missed free throws and turnovers. The Mustangs went cold offensively as Viera strung together a 14-point run to erase the deficit. 

Thomas finally stopped the bleeding just before halftime with a finger-roll layup, but Wekiva entered the break trailing 27–26 after leading by 11. 

The third quarter belonged to Viera. The Hawks opened with seven quick points and followed with a 3-pointer that stretched their lead to 11. Despite multiple offensive rebounds, the Mustangs could not convert, and missed free throws continued to haunt them. 

Viera’s ball movement produced open looks, and another 3-pointer pushed the margin to 16.  

Francillon briefly ignited hope with a corner 3-pointer, but the Hawks matched him. Francillon hit another deep shot, and Dieujuste added a floater just before the buzzer, but Wekiva still faced a daunting 52–36 deficit heading into the fourth quarter. 

Viera opened the final period with a triple, giving the Mustangs less than eight minutes to mount a 19-point comeback. 

What followed was a frantic rally fueled by pressure defense and sharpshooting. Junior DJ Thomas drove inside for a basket and then Dieujuste scored. Francillon caught the ball in stride and buried another 3-pointer and Nichols added a free throw as the Mustangs slowly chipped away. 

With 3:20 left, Wekiva cut the deficit to 12. Dieujuste scored off an offensive rebound and full-court pressure forced a turnover. Though the Mustangs could not convert immediately, the momentum started to shift. 

Down 10 with 1:30 remaining, Orr stole the ball and kicked it to Thomas in the corner for a moving trey. On the very next possession, Orr jumped the inbounds pass for another steal, leading to free throws from Saint-Pierre. Another turnover forced by the press resulted in free throws from Dieujuste, pulling Wekiva within three. 

After another turnover, the Mustangs drilled a 3-pointer to tie the game with 23 seconds remaining. 

Wekiva had a chance to take the lead when Thomas came up with one more steal, but his tough layup attempt bounced away. The loose ball rolled out of bounds with six seconds left, giving Viera possession near half court. 

The Hawks inbounded, their point guard raced up the floor and drove straight through traffic, releasing a contested floater that banked in as the buzzer sounded, sending them to the semifinal round. 

The loss ended a season that saw Wekiva reach 20 wins and battle to the final possession of a regional playoff game.