The win was the 10th consecutive for the Tigers (19-7).
"It was really just luck I was there," Mintz said. "Rickey (Pendley) had that nice, easy layup, but he just missed it. I just happened to be there to get the rebound. I was just fortunate."
Mintz finished with seven points, five rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots.
"Levi hasn't been playing basketball that long. It's really only his second year to play," Cedar Bluff coach Joe Carpenter said. "I told him when he got to school this morning he's becoming a basketball player. He's about there. He's getting to where he can make some moves. He's about figured it out. He's a good, smart kid. He's cool under pressure.
"Putting a basket back is probably not near as much pressure as having a big defensive end chasing you down trying to unload on you in football. I don't think he feels quite as nervous as some of them might out there. I don't think it rattles him. I think he's got ice water in his veins out there."
After Mintz's clutch shot, Piedmont (7-17) had a couple of chances to tie or take the lead, but a jumper by Denard Spears at the buzzer clanked off the rim, allowing the Tigers to escape with the win.
Spears led all scorers with 26 points.
"It's always a close game when we play them," Mintz said. "They always play their best and we always play our best. It's always a good game. We had our bright moments and they had theirs, but it just so happened we were on top in the end tonight."
Cedar Bluff held a 17-13 lead at the end of the first quarter thanks to a buzzer-beating deep 3-pointer from Tiger senior guard Terrence Scales, but Piedmont rallied to take a 31-29 advantage at halftime. Cedar Bluff jumped back out in front in the third, leading 46-39 heading into the final quarter.
Piedmont battled back to briefly take a 1-point lead at 51-50 on a 3-pointer by Dreek Thompson with 3:14 left in the game. The two teams battled back and forth down the stretch, setting the stage for Mintz's crucial putback of Pendley's miss.
"Rickey had a good, clean shot at it, but Levi got off on the backside and it came off to him," Carpenter said. "If we didn't get that basket, it probably would have switched the other way and Piedmont would have won the game."
Pendley, who had four 3-pointers in the first half, finished with 14 points. DeAngelo Hardy led the Tigers with 16 points, eight rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot. Scales contributed 13 points and six steals. Devante Dixon came away with three points, seven boards, five assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
Thompson added eight points for Piedmont. Ty Sparks had seven points and Caleb Adams finished with six points.
"Our guys have been trying to do a better job of playing pressure defense, and they've been trying to execute on offense," Carpenter said. "It's been good to see that. I'm extremely proud of our guys. We've got some ebbs in and out during a ball game, but we survived that again. I know the game is a game of runs, but we've got some points where we've slacked up a little bit in the last three games. We've got to put four quarters together. Now, it's do-or-die time."
Added Mintz: "We're really hitting our stride in the season. Our shots are starting to fall. We're really upbeat and we're playing great defense. I think we've finally learned we have to play defense to help ourselves play offense. That's really the name of our game."
Piedmont girls 57, Cedar Bluff girls 33
CEDAR BLUFF - BreAnna Thompson tallied 27 points to lead Class 3A Piedmont to a 57-33 victory at Cedar Bluff on Friday.
Bre Green added 10 points for Piedmont (22-6). Sarah Garner finished with seven points.
Audrianna Hargitt netted 14 points, grabbed four rebounds and had a steal to lead the Lady Tigers (13-14). Katie McGinnis managed eight points and three assists. Marigrace Wilson finished with five points.
The Lady Bulldogs jumped out of the gate on a 12-0 run and led 16-4 at the end of the first quarter. Piedmont increased its advantage to 34-16 at halftime and led 41-25 at the end of the third quarter.
"They're a great basketball team, no doubt," Carpenter said of Piedmont. "I was disappointed in our effort when we came out tonight. I didn't think we really came to play. Maybe that's my fault. I've been trying to do some things this week to get us ready, but our last two outings we've not played well. We've been out of synch and had a couple of injuries. I don't know what happened tonight, except that we ran into a good ball team. They took it to us, and we didn't have much of an answer for it."
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