Where there's a will, there's a way. And Serrel Smith had a gym-full of will on Saturday.

With St. Petersburg trailing nationally-ranked Oak Hill Academy by as many as 21 points in the third quarter of the National Hoopfest contest, Smith simply lit things up for a standing-room-only crowd at Berkeley Prep.

Hitting five deep 3-pointers in the fourth quarter alone, Smith willed the Green Devils back into the game. His last 3 trimmed the Virginia squad's advantage to five with 48 seconds remaining, but they just ran out of time in a 78-72 setback.

With two McDonald's All-Americans playing for Oak Hill (22-0), Smith was the best player on the court. The first player on a losing team to receive a National Hoopfest game MVP award, Smith dropped in a weekend-high 42 points, going 8-for-12 from behind the arc, and added five steals.

"Ole Miss has got a good one; he's a special player," said St. Petersburg coach Chris Blackwell. "These are things he's been doing since his freshman year. He's always had a good supporting cast but at the end of the day, when a bucket is needed, we know who to go to."

It didn't look like Smith was going to get a chance to be a difference-maker as Oak Hill played most of the first half over the rim. A crushing trap led to a lightning-fast transition game and dunks from All-Americans David McCormack (13 points and 15 rebounds, team MVP) and Keldon Johnson (23 points and eight boards) as well as Keyontae Johnson (12 points and seven assists). Oak Hill was up 48-32 at halftime and stretched its advantage to 60-39 with 3:23 left in the third quarter.

Enter Smith, who triggered a quick 8-0 run late in the third before raining in 3s in the fourth.

"I was kind of rattled up in the first half," Smith said. "Once I settled down, it started coming easy."

St. Petersburg's first three baskets came from the senior to cut the gap to single digits, raising the energy level in the gym with every swish. The D for the Green Devils (13-2) held Oak Hill scoreless for the first four minutes of the fourth, and scoring from seniors Tai Strickland (12 points), DJ Anderson (six points) and Tre'zon Brown made it a two-possession game.

"We had to tighten up and limit their transition. It was killing us, but when we stopped it, we started cutting into the lead," said Smith, as his third steal of the quarter gave the Green Devils a pair of opportunities to further close the gap.

"This is the best competition we've got, right here," Smith said. "The competition at home is going to be way easier. We've got to work together and we'll be okay."

"We're probably going to be one of the teams to contend with (in the playoffs)," Blackwell said. "We'll be working on fine tuning the things we do well, working on our detail and trusting our process. If we stay healthy, we'll be reckoned with."
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