CRESTVIEW — The Dog Pound was as loud as it had been all night when Stacey Jones stepped to the stripe with the game on the line.

The Choctaw forward took a couple of dribbles, squared his shoulders, cocked his elbow back and fired. The ball missed.

The Crestview faithful got louder.

Diante Smith got in Jones’ ear.

“I got behind him and told him to take his time,” Smith said.

Jones did. He took a deep breath and squared up again. His next shot caught nylon.

Jones scored only one point in the Indians’ 60-57 Friday night victory against district rival Crestview, but it was the one that mattered.

“That was huge,” Choctaw coach Andy Thigpen said. “He played a lot of minutes. I know he was a little bit tired. Not an excuse for him missing shots, but to stay in there and hit that big shot, to make it a three-point ballgame, that changes a lot.”

The free throw left the Bulldogs (10-3 overall, 0-1 District 2-7A) with only 6.3 seconds on the clock. Not enough time to complete the epic comeback. After Choctaw (12-1, 1-0) poked the ball out of bounds, Crestview guard D’Marcus Purcell was forced to throw up an impossible 3-pointer from near halfcourt. It missed, and the Bulldog fans went quiet, their hopes dashed.

Crestview had trailed by 17 with fewer than two minutes left in the third quarter. The game was all but over. Then the shots started to fall.

Bulldog forward Chris Basil knocked down a layup after grabbing an offensive rebound, then hit a free throw. Then Purcell and Jaden Voisin knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers.

Without warning, Crestview was on a 9-0 run. That run grew to 19-3 with 4 1/2 minutes to play, as Purcell sidestepped a Choctaw defender a buried another 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 53-49, get the Dog Pound barking and send the Indians scrambling.

It was exciting, but it wasn’t enough.

“We played really hard, and that was kinda my message at halftime,” Crestview coach Greg Watson said. “I felt like if we did what we were supposed to do, we would have a chance to be there, and we did. We just missed too many free throws and too many layups to win a game like that.”

Purcell led the Bulldogs with 16 points. Voisin was close behind with 14.

Friday’s game was only the second time Choctaw and Crestview have matched up since the Bulldogs stunned the Indians to claim the District 2-7A championship with an 80-72 victory in February. The Indians got revenge two weeks later, knocking Crestview out of the state playoffs in the region semifinal round. Despite the early revenge game, Choctaw guard Josh Williams said before the season he wants payback on the district stage.

“I want to bring the trophy back home,” Williams told the Daily News.

Usually a starter, Williams never left the bench Friday after missing a practice earlier this week. Smith said he felt as if Williams’ absence disrupted the Indians flow late in the game.

“Josh kinda handles the pressure,” Smith said. “He’s used to it, and he’s our main ball-handler.”

Without Williams on the floor, Smith brought the ball up more often than he typically does for the Indians. He finished with a game-high 22 points and scored his 1,000th career point in the victory.

“It feels amazing,” Smith said. “I like playing with my teammates and the past players that I’ve played with. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be where I am know.”

Thigpen said before the game he was concerned about his team’s preparation. The Indians were scheduled to play Tate on Thursday, but the Aggies elected to cancel the game, giving Choctaw six days of rest after playing in the Northwest Florida Shootout this past weekend.

Thigpen said the first game back is crucial to working out any kinks that might have developed. Watson can attest; his Bulldogs came out flat Thursday night against Milton and need a 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat the Panthers.

The near-week off seemed to have little effect on the Indians initially. Aron Scott, a Fort Walton Beach transfer and reigning Daily News Player of the week led off the game with a 3-pointer from the left corner and the Indians were off and rolling. They finished the first quarter up 14-8 and headed to the lockers at halftime with a 35-19 advantage.

Up next, Crestview hosts Navarre at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Dog Pound. Choctaw will hit the road to play Escambia at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Pensacola. Both coaches said their teams had plenty to work on.

“Anytime you can get a win, especially in county, in district, in a rivalry game, you’ll take what you can get,” Thigpen said. “But we gotta get a lot better right now.”