Monthly Archives: February 2016

Game Stories, GHSA, GHSA Basketball

No. 3 Calhoun uses overtime to stay undefeated

No. 3 Calhoun 65, Coahulla Creek 58 OT

It took an extra period, but No. 3 Calhoun (22-0, 15-0) was able to stay undefeated on Tuesday night against Coahulla Creek (19-5, 12-3), slipping past the Colts 65-58.

Winning has been synonymous with Calhoun, the AAA powerhouse, in nearly every sport. Known for its football program, the Yellow Jackets have shown sting ever since Coach Vince Layson slid over a couple seats to head coach. Since his arrival in 2012-13, Layson has compiled an 88-13 record and has dominated inside the region at 56-5.

Coahulla Creek, a burgeoning new program, is in search of the success Calhoun has had. Since opening in 2011-12, the Colts have improved their win total each year under Coach Matthew Queener and hold an all-time record of 44-65.

The Colts challenged the Jackets back on Jan. 2, falling 60-52, Calhoun’s only single-digit win. Early on Tuesday it looked as if Calhoun would breeze past the Colts as Coahulla Creek missed three wide open layups to start the game which could have been a sign for things to come, but Calhoun wasn’t able to bury them.

At the end of one, it was 17-15 in favor of the host Yellow Jackets. Malik Lawrence came away with a late steal and pitch ahead to Kaelan Riley for a layup before the buzzer to give Calhoun the lead.

The Yellow Jackets pushed the lead out to 26-15 using an 11-0 run before JR Laird hit an And-1 with 4:18 left in the second quarter. Colts leading scorer Alex Fisher scored seven points in the first quarter, but was held to two in the second as Calhoun surged ahead.

Calhoun carried a 32-25 halftime advantage into the second half before Fisher caught fire.

The senior poured in 10 of his game-high 26 points in the third and cut the Colt deficit to 46-44 entering the fourth quarter.

Fisher quickly drilled his fourth three-pointer of the game with 7:20 remaining to give Coahulla Creek its first lead of the second half. Back and forth the two teams went down the stretch, battling each other and the poor officiating. Missed calls, make up calls and general inconsistency from the men in stripes plagued the game but both teams persevered.

Chapin Rierson gave Calhoun the lead back at the 4:20 mark following a rebound and a coast-to-coast And-1 lay in to make it 52-51. It seemed like the Yellow Jackets regained control after Ray Reeves used his body to shield a defender for a layup with 3:34 left. Two minutes later Riley, the Jackets’ leading scorer, knocked the ball off a Colt’s leg. It ended up in the hands of Jireh Wilson, who drove the length of the court to score two of his 15 points, making it 56-51 with 1:44 left.

Coahulla Creek would not go away however. Out of a timeout, Caleb Lewis hit JR Laird after he slipped into the corner for three, closing the lead to 56-54 with 1:31 to play.

Riley began chewing up clock up top with 45 seconds when it looked like the Colts were about to foul as a defender ran at him. Riley bobbled the ball but regained possession and found Rierson open down low. As Rierson went up for the easy two, Fisher came out of nowhere to pin his shot on the backboard, giving the ball back to the Colts with 29.9 seconds.

Lewis drove to the hoop and threw up a contested shot that didn’t drop. Malik Lawrence gathered the rebound, got fouled and went to the line for a 1-and-1. Lawrence sank the first attempt, but his second shot rimmed out. Fisher took the ball up the court and drove the lane, connecting on a basket plus the foul, tying the game at 57 after the free throw with 13.7 ticks left.

Calhoun’s final possession resulted in Wilson driving and dishing to an open Reeves up top for three. His shot hit the back iron and bounced into Riley’s hands whose putback tantalizingly fell short rolling off the rim sending the game into overtime tied at 57.

A crucial momentum changing play happened half way through the extra period. At the 2:37 mark Kaelan Riley picked the pocket of a Colt and charged down the floor. He took a look over his left shoulder to see a man close behind, but not close enough to make a play on the ball. As Riley went to gather himself for what looked like a surefire dunk his foot slipped egregiously. Instead of the travel being called, Coahulla Creek was whistled for the foul.

Riley knocked down his first free throw but missed the second. Wilson came up with the rebound before more controversy ensued. One referee called a jump ball while the other whistled a foul. The crew met and decided to keep the foul call, sending Wilson to the line and in the process fouling out Colt point guard Caleb Lewis.

Up 60-58 with 1:12 remaining, Coach Layson dialed up the play of the night off of the inbound underneath the basket. Wilson received the ball on a rotation after the initial pass in and riffled a pass inside to a wide open Riley for an And-1 that hung on the rim and dropped in, breaking the hearts of Coahulla Creek as the lead grew to 63-58 with 59.2 seconds left putting the game out of reach.

My Take: One of the best games of the season took place in Calhoun, Georgia last night. I wasn’t sure what to expect heading into the game. Calhoun is a machine, crushing everyone while Coahulla Creek has been one of the state’s most pleasant surprises. The Colts are the opposite of an “airport team”. When they step off the plane and step onto the court, they don’t look like an imposing team, but boy do they know how to play. Calhoun had the size, strength and athletic advantage boasting all its football stars but they were unable to shake the Colts. Coach Matthew Queener used a patient and methodical offense to control the tempo. Dribble handoffs up top lulled the Yellow Jackets to sleep before either Alex Fisher, JR Laird or Tyler Phillips would attack. The Colts started off slow in the first quarter, missing three quick layups, but they battled for second chances led by Phillips’ 13 rebounds. Coahulla hit six threes on the night and its unquestioned leader was Fisher. The senior was unconscious down the stretch making every big play needed, whether it be to attack the rim or pull up off the dribble for three. He finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.

As well as Fisher played however, Calhoun always had an answer. The winning culture shone through as the Yellow Jackets battled through adversity and relied on their upperclassmen to close the game out. Kaelan Riley, Jireh Wilson, Malik Lawrence and Chapin Rierson combined for 58 points. Riley was relentless inside with 16 points and 13 rebounds while Wilson and Lawrence did damage on the perimeter. Wilson scored 15 points and dished out five assists and Lawrence scored 15. Rierson didn’t have his best game, struggling to finish inside but still made plays when his team counted on him the most, none bigger than when he showed off his versatility grabbing a rebound and taking it all the way to the hole for an And-1. Calhoun will have a target on its back going into the region and more importantly state tournament, especially if they are able to enter unblemished. Whoever draws Coahulla Creek will have their hands full if they don’t take the Colts seriously. The veteran group consisting of six seniors and four juniors play very hard for Coach Queener. With a strong core of guards in Caleb Lewis, Alex Fisher and JR Laird the Colts have a chance to sneak up on teams and will likely get one last crack at Calhoun in the Region 6 championship if everything plays out chalk.

Top Performers
Calhoun
Kaelan Riley – 16 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 steals, 1 block
Jireh Wilson – 15 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block
Malik Lawrence – 15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block
Chapin Rierson – 12 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 blocks
Ray Reeves – 6 points, 1 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

Coahulla Creek
Alex Fisher – 26 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 4 blocks
JR Laird – 15 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals
Tyler Phillips – 8 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 bock
Caleb Lewis – 4 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block

College, GHSA, GHSA Basketball

Where are they now? (February update)

A monthly check up on how some of last season’s top GHSA players are faring as freshmen at their respective D-1 schools:

Class AAAAAA

Jaylen Brown (Wheeler to Cal)
15.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.9 apg, 46.4 FG%

Shembari Phillips (Wheeler to Tennessee)
3.2 ppg, 1.0 rpg

Derek Ogbeide (Pebblebrook to UGA)
3.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg

Ty Hudson (Pebblebrook to Clemson)
2.0 ppg

Trhae Mitchell (Pebblebrook to South Alabama)
N/A

Bryce Brown (Tucker to Auburn)
8.7 ppg, 35.1 FG%

Devontae Cacok (Alpharetta to UNC-Wilmington)
4.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 66.7 FG%

Marcus Sheffield (Chattahoochee to Stanford)
7.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg

Ricky Madison (Norcross to High Point)
3.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg

Class AAAAA

Lamont West (Miller Grove to West Virginia)
N/A

Class AAAA

Tracy Hector (Jonesboro to Kennesaw State)
1.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.5 apg

Austin Donaldson (Jonesboro to Georgia State)
10 minutes

Malik Benlevi (Jenkins to Georgia State)
2.1 ppg, 1.1 rpg

Montae Glenn (Carrollton to Georgia Southern)
5.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 60% FG

Ty Cockfield (Johnson-Gainesville to Stetson)
7.1 ppg, 0.9 apg, 1.9 rpg

Class AAA

Tookie Brown (Morgan County to Georgia Southern)
17.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.3 apg, 2.0 spg

Austin Venable (Banks County to Presbyterian)
3.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 48.5% FG

Antwan Maxwell (Johnson-Savannah to Charleston Southern)
N/A

Class AA

Reggie Reid (Harlem to FGCU)
4.0 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 3.7 apg, 0.7 spg, 34.8% FG

Trevon Scott (McIntosh County Academy to Cincinnati)
N/A

Eric Jamison (GAC to Gardner-Webb)
N/A

Class A

Malik Beasley (St. Francis to FSU)
17.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.0 spg, 51.8 FG%, 41.9 3PT%

Kaiser Gates (St. Francis to Xavier)
2.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg

Josh Coleman (St. Francis to Coastal Carolina)
27 minutes

‘Turtle’ Jackson (Athens Christian to UGA)
1.5 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 0.8 apg

Justin Ravenel (Greenforest to Florida A&M)
8.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg

Courtney Alexander (Whitefield Academy to Tennessee Tech)
2.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 50 FG%

Trey Kalina (North Cobb Christian to UTC)
N/A

GHSA, GHSA Basketball, Rankings

Week 11 Rankings

Class AAAAAA

  1. Norcross (20-2)
  2. Wheeler (17-5)
  3. Pebblebrook (16-7)
  4. Tift County (21-2)
  5. Westlake (16-4)
  6. McEachern (19-3)
  7. Newton (20-3)
  8. Brookwood (16-6)
  9. Campbell (16-5)
  10. Shiloh (16-5)

 Class AAAAA

  1. Miller Grove (21-2)
  2. Allatoona (23-0)
  3. McIntosh (19-2)
  4. Gainesville (16-4)
  5. Cedar Shoals (22-2)
  6. Riverwood (23-1)
  7. South Paulding (20-3)
  8. Warner Robins (15-2)
  9. Effingham County (20-3)
  10. Southwest DeKalb (20-4)

 Class AAAA

  1. Jonesboro (20-3)
  2. Lithonia (18-4)
  3. Liberty County (18-1)
  4. St. Pius (19-4)
  5. Eagle’s Landing (22-1)
  6. Grady (19-3)
  7. Upson-Lee (19-3)
  8. Monroe (16-5)
  9. Thomson (16-4)
  10. Worth County (17-4)

 Class AAA

  1. Morgan County (18-4)
  2. South Atlanta (19-4)
  3. Calhoun (21-0)
  4. Laney (20-2)
  5. Jenkins (19-3)
  6. Central-Macon (21-2)
  7. Westminster (19-2)
  8. Callaway (14-3)
  9. Banks County (21-2)
  10. Johnson-Savannah (17-5)

Class AA

  1. Thomasville (21-1)
  2. Seminole County (18-4)
  3. Crawford County (19-2)
  4. Lovett (16-4)
  5. Vidalia (21-3)
  6. Swainsboro (14-7)
  7. Chattooga (21-1)
  8. Dublin (19-4)
  9. Early County (17-5)
  10. Macon County (16-5)

Class A-Private

  1. Greenforest (20-2)
  2. North Cobb Christian (17-3)
  3. SWAC (14-8)
  4. St. Francis (15-7)
  5. Whitefield Academy (14-8)
  6. Our Lady of Mercy (17-3)
  7. Lakeview Academy (19-4)
  8. Stratford Academy (15-5)
  9. St. Anne-Pacelli (14-8)
  10. Tattnall Square Academy (14-7)

Class A-Public

  1. Wilkinson County (16-5)
  2. Turner County (18-5)
  3. Calhoun County (14-8)
  4. Treutlen (19-2)
  5. Hancock Central (16-5)
  6. Lincoln County (14-5)
  7. Central-Talbotton (16-8)
  8. Taylor County (15-7)
  9. Randolph-Clay (15-8)
  10. Quitman County (16-8)

 Welcome to February. The cold month of January heated up during its final week seeing a multitude of upsets that has given the rankings its most movement over the entire season. Class AAAAAA saw two powers take major hits. Westlake took over the No. 1 ranking from Shiloh back in Week 2 and held serve for eight weeks before falling to No. 5 this week after an 81-80 loss at home to new No. 9 Campbell on Tuesday and a 59-57 loss at Douglas County (13-9) on Friday. The Spartans have won five-straight now in Region 3, highlighted by wins over Westlake, Douglas County 72-61 and Langston Hughes, 79-74. The aforementioned Shiloh saw its struggles continue, dropping to No. 10 after a 62-59 loss to Brookwood on Friday, who debuts in the polls at No. 8. The Generals had lost two in a row before rebounding on Tuesday with a 74-44 throttling of Dacula (17-5), who started their downward spiral the week before. Shiloh looked back on track after the bounce back win, but the Broncos ambushed them. The Generals showed resilience on Saturday beating Grayson (17-5) 61-47. As Shiloh has sank in the ranking, they have dragged down Grayson and Dacula with them, knocking last week’s No. 10 and No. 9 teams out of the top ten.

No. 8 Brookwood earned its signature win to enter the poll on Friday. It has been a long time coming for Coach Daniel Bowles. From a 5-win season in 2011-12, Bowles advanced the team to 16-10 the next year, but fell on hard times, going 12-14 in 2013-14 and 7-19 last season. The Broncos finished second to last in Region 8 last year but now find themselves in a log jam for fourth place. The resume has been impressive for Brookwood. Wins have come over Berkmar (14-7), White County (16-7), Johns Creek (21-2), GAC (14-9), Heritage-Conyers (17-5), Grayson (17-5) and now No. 10 Shiloh (16-5). Micah Kinsey and Bubba Parham have been a lethal 1-2 punch in the backcourt. Kinsey, an unsigned senior point guard, is as true a leader as they come averaging 11.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 7.6 assists and 4.5 steals. Parham leads the team in scoring from his two-guard spot averaging 16.3 points.

No. 7 Newton drops two spots after a tough loss to rival Rockdale County (12-10) on Senior Night, 52-50. The Rams had taken first-place in Region 2 momentarily after beating Tucker (18-5) on Wednesday, 58-48. Pebblebrook leaps three spots to No. 3 and in the process pass No. 4 Tift County, who doesn’t climb the top five even after two Westlake losses. The Falcons have been playing their best basketball of the season and received some scoring punch from someone other than Collin Sexton and Jared Harper, in Dwight Murray. The sophomore guard scored 18 points in a 72-48 win over Langston Hughes. Pebblebrook leaps No. 4 Tift County based upon strength of schedule and more importantly, Preston Horne, the Blue Devils’ leading scorer, being out for the remainder of the season with an ACL injury. Pebblebrook has a chance to cement itself among the top five, getting a rematch at Westlake on Tuesday, a game they lost 76-70 at home earlier in the year.

On the precipice of cracking the top ten remain Lambert (21-2), Johns Creek and Collins Hill (20-3). The same goes for Lambert and Johns Creek as it does with Tift County. The Longhorns and Gladiators have complied great records and will be a legitimate No. 1 and No. 2 pair out of Region 6, but the region is weak and doesn’t stack up to the likes of Region 3, 7 and 8, which has put six teams in the top ten (No. 1 Norcross, No. 3 Pebblebrook, No. 5 Westlake, No. 8 Brookwood, No. 9 Campbell, No. 10 Shiloh). Both teams are both still in search of their key signature win.

The only change in Class AAAAA came between the bottom two spots. No. 9 Effingham County moves up a spot over No. 10 Southwest DeKalb. The Rebels have passed every test presented to them in Region 3, with their latest A+ grade coming against Statesboro (17-6) last week, scoring a 51-35 win on the road. No. 10 Southwest DeKalb lost at home against No. 1 Miller Grove in front of a capacity crowd on Tuesday, 53-45. McDonalds All-American and UConn signee Alterique Gilbert scored a game-high 17 points to fend off a wild Panther rally, scoring nine of the Wolverines’ 10 fourth quarter points. No. 5 Cedar Shoals and No. 8 Warner Robins both have challenges coming up. The Jaguars host Heritage-Conyers (17-5) on Tuesday in a rematch of a 54-51 victory which saw Cedar Shoals lead for only the last 6:06 of the game to earn the Region 8 road win. The Demons visit Jones County (14-9) and potent scorer Devin Wooten. The senior guard pours in 25.6 points per game.

Region 6-AAAA was won on Friday night as No. 2 Lithonia used an 11-3 run in the third quarter to pull away from No. 4 St. Pius and land a 56-48 win over the Golden Lions on Senior Night. UT-Chattanooga signee Rodney Chatman went off for a game-high 24 points and grabbed six rebounds in the region clinching win. Kerney Lane posted 19 points and seven rebounds in the loss. No. 3 Liberty County moves up two spots following a season sweep of No. 9 Thomson, 80-72 on the road.  Grady tumbles two more spots to No. 6 after a 67-62 loss at home to Lithonia on Tuesday. The Knights weren’t at their best later in the week, but they still managed to pull out a 56-52 overtime win against Columbia. Sandy Creek (15-6) lasted just one week in the top ten after resurfacing. The Patriots lost 58-56 to Carrollton on Friday but quickly turned around and beat Fayette County 76-64. In for Sandy Creek is No. 8 Monroe, their second time in the poll. The Tornadoes get the nod over 17-7 Bainbridge. On Jan. 23, Monroe beat the Bearcats 65-52. UGA signee Tyree Crump was held to 8 points on 1-of-8 shooting. Emeshaun Offord leads Monroe in scoring and poured in 23 points in the win. The Bearcats are in consideration to make the top ten after drilling No. 10 Worth County 93-79 last week. Crump shook off his prior bad shooting performance and dropped in 45 points. No. 7 Upson-Lee ran its win streak up to 14 games with a 62-61 edging of Westside-Macon on the road. No. 1 Jonesboro beat Pike County 116-14; a 102-point win. It’s not the first time Coach Daniel Maehlman has run the score up on the lowly Pirates. They drilled them 80-19 on Jan. 15.

No movement was seen in AAA. No. 2 South Atlanta survived a 36-point fourth quarter from Jackson-Atlanta on Tuesday to win 72-71 on the road. No. 3 Calhoun faces its last test of the season before entering the state tournament, welcoming 19-4 Coahulla Creek on Tuesday. The Colts lost by just eight in their previous meeting, 60-52. Jireh Wilson scored 31 points to lift the Yellow Jackets. Caleb Lewis and Alex Fisher will need monster games in order to upset Calhoun. Elsewhere, No. 6 Central-Macon survived Spencer (7-16) for their 14th straight win, 73-69. No. 7 Westminster puts its 18-game winning streak on the line against rival Blessed Trinity (11-11) this Tuesday. No. 9 Banks County got its revenge against North Hall. The Leopards won 62-47 at North Hall following a 67-66 loss on Dec. 21.

And then there was won. Lovett moves up two spots to No. 4 in AA and in the process kicks Pace Academy (11-10) out of the ranking after holding the No. 4 spot, with a 66-63 win in overtime against the Knights. Crawford Schwieger hit a three at the buzzer to send the game to overtime for the Lions. Henry Richardson torched the Knights from deep, hitting 6-of-9 threes for 23 points. Ryan Greer added 14 points, six rebounds and seven assists while Schwieger netted 12 points in the statement victory. Wendell Carter Jr. had 24 points and Isaiah Kelly 17 in the loss. Pace’s roller coaster of a season now sees them out of the top ten late in the year. They have a respectable Region 6 record at 9-2, but the region as a whole has been up-and-down for various reasons. At points in the season, four teams filled the top ten, but now just Lovett remains. Holy Innocents’ (15-6) drops from No. 9 to unranked following a 63-46 loss at Pace. The Golden Bears have been riddled with injuries. Brent Duncan, the team’s top low post option at 6-foot-7, has missed half the season with an injury. Back up 6-foot-7 center Richard Surdykowski played exceptionally well, but a stress fracture in his foot has cut his junior season short. For GAC (14-9, 9-3), Garrett Covington a Gwinnett Daily Post Super Six selection has left in the middle of the season. Brian Coffey, a recent North Florida-commit, is gone as well leaving first-year Head Coach David Eaton’s team in shambles.

Outside of Region 6’s turmoil, Region 1 features a rematch of one of the best games of the year and possibly a future state championship matchup between No. 1 Thomasville and No. 2 Seminole County. The defending state champion Indians took down the bigger Bulldogs on Jan. 9 at home, 71-65. Thomasville has since regained the No. 1 ranking in the state and will try to hold it for good if they are able to slow down Jordan Harris (UGA) and Anfernee King. No. 6 Swainsboro moves up four spots and has proven that it is more dangerous than its modest record suggests. The Tigers drilled No. 8 Dublin 75-61. No. 9 Early County and No. 10 Macon County both re-enter the top ten after Pace and Holy Innocents’ fall out.

In a legit battle of 7-footers in Class A-Private, No. 1 Greenforest crushed King’s Ridge 74-45, dropping the Tigers (13-8) out after just one week as they lost three straight games. Justin Forrest finished with 21 points and five assists, collecting the 1,000th point of his career along the way. Ikey Obiagu battled with newly eligible Tolu Jacobs inside, nearly 14-feet worth of bodies. Obiagu outclassed Jacobs with 14 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks. Jacobs, with the muscle advantage, could only muster three points and fouled out early in the fourth quarter. No. 2 North Cobb Christian crushed Christian Heritage 73-39. No. 6 Our Lady of Mercy swapped places with No. 7 Lakeview Academy due to an impressive win at Walker 73-57, dropping the Wolverines out of the ranking. Replacing Walker and King’s Ridge are No. 9 St. Anne-Pacelli and No. 10 Tattnall Square Academy. The Trojans sneak into the top ten thanks to a 69-67 win over No. 8 Stratford Academy and a 64-59 win over First Presbyterian Day before slipping to Landmark Christian 74-69. Tattnall Square has nice wins on its resume such as No. 9 St. Anne-Pacelli (14-8), 2A No. 6 Swainsboro (14-7), 1A-Public No. 1 Wilkinson County (16-5) and wins over No. 8 Stratford (15-5) and First Presbyterian (13-8).

Class A-Public saw Hancock Central fall from No. 1 to No. 5 following a 61-59 upset at Lincoln County, who rises four spots to No. 6. It was the Red Devils’ first win over Hancock in over 25 years. Following back-to-back losses, Lincoln County has turned things around winning three-straight. They followed Tuesday’s momentous victory over the Bulldogs with a 82-40 drubbing of Glascock County and a 61-54 win against Georgia Military in which they held Luke Lawson, the state’s third leading scorer at 25.7 points per game, to two points. Ahmad Rand flirted with another triple-double, posting 10 points, nine rebounds and nine blocks. With Hancock’s loss, No. 1 Wilkinson County takes over. The Warriors have great size inside and have won seven-straight. No. 2 Turner County continued along its warpath to the No. 1 spot while No. 4 Treutlen drops a slot due to strength of schedule. No. 10 Quitman County enters the top ten, but it is No. 7 Central-Talbotton who is making the most noise right now. A 66-61 win over No. 8 Taylor County pushes the Hawks into contender status.