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Game Stories, GHSA, GHSA Basketball

No. 5 Cedar Shoals steals win at No. 7 Heritage-Conyers

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No. 5 Cedar Shoals 54, No. 7 Heritage 51

Basketball is a 32-minute game. For 26 minutes, host No. 7 Heritage was the better team, crushing the offensive glass and sinking four first quarter threes, but as all good teams do, No. 5 Cedar Shoals was able to weather the storm and in the end found a way to pull out another Region 8 victory and move to 18-2 overall and 9-1 in region play after edging the Patriots 54-51.

The Jaguars brought a great crowd as both lineups were greeted with smears of boos and cheers echoing throughout the gym as if it were a neutral site. Coach L’Dreco Thomas said before the game that their goal was to keep the slashing Patriots out of the lane and force them to hit open jumpers – they did. Heritage buried four three-pointers in the first quarter paced by Jordan Thomas, who would sink five on the night en route to a team-high 15 points, giving the Patriots a 22-11 lead at the end of one.

With Heritage nailing nearly every open look it had, the Jaguars had to search for the light at the end of the tunnel. It was hard to find any positives in the first quarter however as the Patriots pounded Cedar Shoals on the glass to take a 17-5 rebounding advantage after eight minutes. The Jaguars would lose the rebounding battle on the night 34 to 21, but through quarters two through four, sewed up the tally, 17-16.

Heritage’s 6-foot-6 center Makyle Wilkerson sat with foul trouble for most of the half meaning 6-foot-2, 200-pound Marquis Davis had to step in. Davis, who looks more like a linebacker, gave the Patriots a spark inside collecting five points off the bench in the second quarter and finishing the game with seven points and seven rebounds.

Makyle Wilkerson played well when he was on the floor
Makyle Wilkerson played well when he was on the floor
Marquis Davis played great for Coach Vernon Denmark
Marquis Davis played great for Coach Vernon Denmark

The second quarter belonged to Phlan Fleming and the Jaguars. Held scoreless in the first, the junior swingman hotly recruited by SOCON schools got going. He led an 18-9 Cedar Shoals second quarter with nine of his 11 points. Coach Thomas elected to come out of their zone and extend into a press that began to rattle the Heritage ball handlers while switching the tempo and momentum into the road team’s favor, leading to a 31-29 halftime score; the Jaguars never holding the lead.

While it was Fleming’s second quarter, the third belonged to Cedar Shoals’ Snipe Hall. The junior poured in 11 of the Jaguars’ 15 third quarter points, the other four being scored by point guard Jerrick Mitchell. As Hall worked his way to a game-high 16 points, the Jags still never captured the lead and Davis would make sure the Patriots had the advantage heading into the fourth, scoring off a tip-in as the clock expired, giving Heritage a narrow 46-44 lead entering the final period.

Seen so many times before, teams in an early hole usually spend all of their energy just trying to claw back into the game and in the end fall short. Not Cedar Shoals. When the going got tough, the Jaguars sank their teeth into the Patriots, clamping down and allowing just five fourth quarter points. Senior guard Greg Smith, who was held scoreless through the first 25 minutes of the game, scored back-to-back buckets to give Cedar Shoals their first lead of the game, 48-46 with 6:06 left.

The Jags had finally climbed the mountain top, but would they be able to place their flag atop it? Nearly three full minutes passed without the score changing. With just over three minutes to play, Cedar Shoals took its largest lead of the game at 50-46. Having no momentum to speak of and no baskets coming easy, Byron Abrams took it upon himself to score two of his 11 points on the night to draw back within two. Twenty-two seconds later, Isaiah Banks hit Thomas in the corner for his fifth and final three of the night to make it 51-50 in favor of Heritage with 2:16 to play.

That bucket proved to not only be Thomas’ final points of the night, but the Patriots’ as well. Stavion Stevenson gave the Jaguars the lead back on a jumper. Banks was fouled with 1:36 to play but missed the front-end of the one-and-one. With 24.4 seconds remaining, it was Hall’s turn to miss a one-and-one, giving Heritage another breath. The Patriots went to Banks who drove to the rim but was swallowed up by two defenders, both Fleming and Hall blocking his shot. Banks retrieved it and tried to gather himself to go back up for two, but was denied again by Fleming and now Smith. A jump-ball was called with 7.9 left and the possession arrow pointing in Heritage’s direction. The Jags weren’t out of the woods yet.

Abrams burned two timeouts trying to inbound the ball and on the third try, Mitchell was called for a hold on Wilkerson, sending the big man to the line with a one-and-one opportunity to tie or potentially win the game.

Wilkerson’s free throw bounced on the rim three times before falling into Fleming’s hands. Fleming coolly sank both free throws with 6.2 seconds. Charles Moore raced up the court and pulled up for a clean look to send the game to overtime, but his shot rimmed out.

Cedar Shoals went 2-of-3 from the line in the fourth quarter and finished the night 7-of-12, while the Patriots went 0-of-2 in the fourth, and made just 3-of-9 during the game. The loss drops Heritage to 15-4 overall and 7-2 in region play; both losses to teams ahead of them with No. 4 Gainesville (11-3, 9-0) in first-place.

It was standing room only for the final possession
It was standing room only for the final possession

My Take: The already late 8:30 start time was pushed back to 9:40 after JV games ran late. This classic wasn’t finished until after 11 P.M., but boy was it a good one. It played out how I expected: two evenly matched teams with great balance, not giving an inch to the opponent. Cedar Shoals started off slow and Heritage, coming off a 96-68 inexplicable blowout loss to Brookwood, looked hungry and ready to blow the doors off of whoever stepped foot on the court. Jordan Thomas was cooking early on from deep and helped the Patriots race to a 15-6 lead. After Heritage’s four three-pointer barrage in the first eight minutes, they hit only two the rest of the game. Byron Abrams showed good court vision throughout the game and attacked when needed. Senior Charles Moore did a steady job handling the ball. To open the third quarter Heritage really looked to play at their pace and decided to slow down the offense a bit, hitting the high post and looking opposite. Makyle Wilkerson didn’t get much burn in the first half due to fouls, but he is a nice athletic piece inside, finishing with eight points and five rebounds. Marquis Davis played great off the bench and was a main reason why Heritage wrecked the smaller Jaguars on the boards to open the game.

Cedar Shoals did what good teams do: find a way to win. Jerrick Mitchell is a speedy guard that was able to attack the rim and set up his teammates. His only flaw is that opponents don’t respect his jumper. Abrams literally shooed him off when he had the ball in the corner and told him to shoot it. Credit to Mitchell, knowing his game, he didn’t play into Abrams’ head-games and passed it off instead of forcing a bad shot. Both Snipe Hall and Phlan Fleming carried Cedar Shoals at times. Both teams have 3-4 guys that can go out and lead the team in scoring with 15+ any night, which makes it difficult to slow them down. Fleming got going in the second quarter showing off a nice feathery touch from the mid-range baseline. Even though he is the most recruited player on his team, he never forced the issue and played within himself while playing team ball. Stavion Stevenson didn’t have a huge game, but he battled inside and came away with two big buckets in the fourth quarter. When Cedar Shoals really needed stops, it got them. The Jags started in a 2-3 zone, but moved into a press that really got them back into the game. Both teams went about 7-8 deep. I envision both squads being extremely tough outs in the state playoffs. They might not have the true go-to guy like Gainesville has in D’Marcus Simonds (Georgia State) or Apalachee in Kamar Baldwin (Butler), but their balance is extremely tough to handle when they are clicking on all cylinders.

Top Performers

Cedar Shoals
Snipe Hall – 16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block
Phlan Fleming – 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks
Jerrick Mitchell – 10 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals
Stavion Stevenson – 10 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block

Heritage-Conyers
Jordan Thomas – 15 points (five 3’s), 4 rebounds, 2 assists
Byron Abrams – 11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
Makyle Wilkerson – 8 points, 5 rebounds
Charles Moore – 7 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
Marquis Davis – 7 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists
Isaiah Banks – 3 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists

Game Stories, GHSA, GHSA Basketball

No. 3 Seminole County hands No. 1 Thomasville first loss

No. 3 Seminole County 71, No. 1 Thomasville 65

The four hour trip was worth it. Defending AA state champs No. 3 Seminole County (12-3, 5-1) never trailed in the second half and held off No. 1 Thomasville (16-1, 4-1) 71-65 to hand the Bulldogs their first loss of the season.

Thomasville’s balance of four players in double figures was not enough on the road against the Batman and Robin duo of UGA signee Jordan Harris and Anfernee King in front of a raucous sold out crowd. The Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead and looked like their size consisting of 6-foot-8 brothers senior Alex and sophomore Reggie Perry and 6-foot-8 freshman Titus Wright, would overwhelm the much smaller Indians, topped by 6-foot-4 senior center Justin Washington, but the Jordan Harris show began.

Thomasville can go 6-foot-8 three deep across the frontline
Thomasville can go 6-foot-8 three deep across the frontline

Harris connected on two deep balls and scored 10 of his game-high 28 points in the first quarter to enter the second period tied at 16. Senior Jordan Willis, Thomasville’s offensive catalyst at point guard, did not start and didn’t play in the first quarter for disciplinary reasons. As he was trying to find his flow in the game, Coach Benjamin Tillman relied on Shedric Cooper and Reggie Perry to get buckets. Perry, who finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, scored six points in the first half while Cooper netted seven of his 10.

Harris continued his onslaught in the second quarter hunting his own shot while still getting everyone involved. He entered the half with 18 points, swooping to the rim and cutting into Thomasville’s paint protectors. At the half the Indians held a 33-27 lead.

To open the third quarter, Thomasville slowed the track meet down and began looking to exploit their size advantage by dumping high-low looks to the Perry brothers. Three early attempts didn’t work with Harris coming away with a steal in Seminole County’s zone which was used to pack it in and not let the Perrys or Wright get point-blank looks.

Down 38-33 with five minute left in the third, Willis came away with a runout and tried to hammer in a dunk, but his attempt clanged off the back rim and landed in Tyreke Daniels’ hands. Daniels pushed the ball up and hit King in transition, who proceeded to bury a three-pointer to make it 41-33; a five-point swing.

Alex Perry quickly answered back inside with a sweeping hook shot that resulted in an And-1, but Harris was not to be out done. In the highlight of the night, better than his alley oop dunk from the hands of King and numerous Perry slams, Harris went between his defender’s legs, re-controlled his dribble and hit a step back fade away from just inside the arc. He pulled off the nutmeg so quickly, that most fans didn’t even realize what he had just done.

At the 1:40 mark, Harris picked up his fourth foul up 45-38 but King and Washington were able to carry the Indians into the fourth quarter leading 47-39. The Indians extended their lead to 49-39, their largest of the game with just under seven minutes to play, but the Bulldogs would show their bite and began clawing back, using a 8-0 run to make it 49-47.

Thomasville was in the double-bonus early in the fourth and began to pound away at the hoop, taking 16 fourth quarter free throws and sinking 12.  Willis led the charge and scored 11 of his team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter and helped the Bulldogs draw even at 51, but it was short lived as King hit a layup to regain the lead. The senior guard poured in 13 fourth quarter points to finish with 21, hitting 9-of-12 free throws in the fourth quarter to help the Indians upset the Bulldogs.

My Take: 217 miles? I could have traveled 400 miles and it would have been worth it. The hospitality at Seminole County was outstanding and a shoutout needs to go Juwan Hopkins, who helped me find my way to the gym after getting lost on some darks roads. As far as the game goes, the first thing I noticed was Thomasville’s size. My jaw dropped to think this was an AA team and that Reggie Perry and Titus Wright are only a sophomore and freshman respectively. The storyline for tonight’s game was whether Seminole County’s two-man show of Jordan Harris and Anfernee King could keep up with Thomasville’s balance and size. Jordan Willis didn’t even start tonight for the Bulldogs and their starting lineup still looked like it could play with anyone in the state. The Perry brothers are big and long. Reggie is a high-major prospect and moves well for his size. Wright played a little out of position and wasn’t anchored on the block like I felt he should have been. He is a big barrel-chested post that can move people out of his way. He isn’t as athletic or explosive as the Perrys, but if he works on his quickness and post moves, he will be a nightmare for the next four years. Shedric Cooper and Gregory Hobbs played well in the backcourt, but Willis is the go-to guy. He put the team on his back in the fourth quarter and scored by slashing to the basket, hitting threes and adding points from the foul line. The Bulldogs will be a major player in the state tournament and were well deserving of their No. 1 ranking and undefeated record.

What is there to say about Seminole County? Harris and King are winners. They take a ton of shots, but it is their team and they have the green-light on every possession. Harris needs to be face-guarded or bracketed by two men every time he plays. The only recipe to beating the Indians is getting him in foul trouble or praying for an off night. But if he does have a rare rough game, King has more than enough goods to carry the load. King has an excellent pullup jumper and good elevation to get his shot off. He showed off his playmaking skills along with Harris as the two helped get Justin Washington involved. The senior big man played possibly the best game of his career according to Coach Kevin Godwin. Not blessed with his teammates’ athleticism, Washington was unafraid to battle inside and showed nifty footwork when around the basket. He finished with 10 points, four rebounds and two steals, doing the dirty work inside while putting a body on three players that were four inches taller than him. It looks as if there is a very strong possibility that the Class AA state championship will run through South Georgia again, with Region 1 having three legitimate horses in the race including No.6 Early County.

Top Performers

Seminole County
Jordan Harris – 28 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
Anfernee King – 21 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Justin Washington – 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block

Thomasville
Jordan Willis – 16 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals
Reggie Perry – 12 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals
Shedric Cooper – 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists
Titus Wright – 10 points, 3 rebounds
Alex Perry – 8 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 3 blocks

Game Stories, GHSA, GHSA Basketball

Grayson Holds Off No. 9 Dacula

Grayson 73, No. 9 Dacula 69

A rare Wednesday night game between two Region 8 contenders set up for a fantastic finish as host Grayson (13-1, 4-1) was able to hold off an offensive onslaught from Wofford signee Kevon Tucker and Derek St. Hilaire in the fourth quarter for a 73-69 win over No. 9 Dacula (10-3, 3-1).

Tre Sconiers and freshman 6-foot-5 center Kenyon Jackson got the Rams off to a quick start in the first quarter. Sconiers scored eight of his 14 points in the opening eight minutes by finding baskets inside. He finished with a double-double, grabbing 15 rebounds and blocking four shots. Jackson, who suffered foul trouble, was also a menace inside, posting six points, eight rebounds and three blocks in the first quarter to give Grayson a 22-14 lead after one.

Alphonso Willis, one of Grayson’s leading scorers on the year, sat the entire second quarter due to foul trouble. While the senior combo guard was out, it was time for his shifty running mate to take over. Austin Dukes had a quiet first quarter, but banked in a three-pointer at the buzzer to ignite an important second quarter. Dukes began attacking the basket, sinking all four free throw attempts and netting eight points to give him 14 at the break.

As Dukes was carrying the load offensively with Willis out, St. Hilaire began to go to work for Dacula after scoring two points in the first quarter. The aggressive guard scored eight points of his own in the quarter as the Falcons remained in striking distance. Demari Edwards finished with 10 points in the first half for Dacula, but was held scoreless in the second half, putting the pressure on Tucker and St. Hilaire to scrap back from down 38-33 going into the break.

In the third quarter Grayson gradually began to build its lead and pushed its advantage out to 13 before St. Hilaire caught fire. With less than a minute to go, the senior splashed in a stepback three and then buried a deep ball with five seconds left to bring the Falcons back from the dead. After trailing 56-43, Dacula entered the fourth down 56-49.

The run wouldn’t stop there. The Falcons would go on a 13-2 run sparked by 11 St. Hilaire points to make it 58-56 with 5:50 remaining. St. Hilaire, who finished with a game-high 28, combined with Tucker to score 17 points of Dacula’s 20 points in the fourth quarter. Tucker, who finished with 24 points, scored nine points but Dacula was never able to get over the hump and never grabbed a second half lead.

With 4:52 to play, down 60-56, the Falcons drove to the basket and tried to draw contact but didn’t get the whistle. Dr. Triaga erupted after the no-call and was slapped with a technical which sent Dukes to the line to sink two free throws.

The T looked like it would stem the tide of Dacula’s momentum, but the Falcons kept coming. A 5-0 run drew them within 62-61 with 3:44 left. Dukes and St. Hilaire traded bucket for bucket down the stretch. Dukes sank 14-of-17 free throws including 7-of-9 in the fourth to score a team-high 27 points and give Grayson 69-66 lead with 47.8 to play. Dacula had opportunities to tie, but fumbled them away as Grayson got the stops they needed down the stretch and finished 23-of-31 from the foul line to ice the game.

My Take: The stars shined in this Gwinnett County battle. With Alphonso Willis and Kenyon Jackson hardly playing in the second quarter, it was impressive to see Grayson with a 5-point halftime lead. Austin Dukes showed he could carry the load. The svelte guard was able to shake his way to the basket and draw contact to live at the line. Willis came away with some big rebounds down the stretch in the fourth and scored six in the fourth. Freshman big man Kenyon Jackson is a player to keep an eye on. He was disruptive on defense and finished with 11 rebounds and three blocks. If he has another inch or two left in him to grow, he could become a dominant defensive presence. With that being said, he is already averaging 10 rebounds and nearly four blocks a game. Tre Sconiers was a player that always found himself in the right place at the right time. His 14 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks were all from effort. It looked as if the Rams were running out of gas in the fourth, taking body blow after body blow from Kevon Tucker and Derek St. Hilaire, but the freshness of Willis in the fourth helped mightily after sitting in the second.

Speaking of Tucker and St. Hilaire, they went into ultimate attack mode in the final quarter. St. Hilaire single handedly pulled them back in the game with two late threes in the third. Tucker opened the game taking some bad contested jumpers but as the game wore on he began to attack the hoop and overpower defenders with his body control and size. The question surrounding the Falcons however, is who will be that third option? Demari Edwards played very well in the first half but disappeared in the second and didn’t score. The burden to score rests heavily on Dacula’s two stars, which they can shoulder, but they shouldn’t have had to score 85% of their team’s points in the fourth quarter. Outside of Edwards’ 10 points, the fourth leading scorer was Juwan White with five. Region 8 will end up being one of the most competitive regions in the state. Expect more nail-biters like this one. The two meet again on Jan. 29 in a game that should hold major implications for top four playoff seeding.

Top Performers

Grayson
Austin Dukes – 27 points (14-of-17 FT), 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Tre Sconiers – 14 points, 15 rebounds, 2 steals, 4 blocks
Kenyon Jackson – 9 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks
Alphonso Willis – 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists

Dacula
Derek St. Hilaire – 28 points, 2 rebounds, 3 steals
Kevon Tucker – 24 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal
Demari Edwards – 10 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block

Game Stories, GHSA, GHSA Basketball

Sour Shooting Sinks No. 7 East Hall at 56th annual Lanierland

Flowery Branch 62, No. 7 East Hall 56

Following a 72-49  defeat suffered by the girls team on their home floor to No. 2 Flowery Branch, the No. 7 East Hall boys had their sights set on capturing their first Lanierland title since 2010. It didn’t happen. The Vikings slipped to 9-4 on the season in Valhalla to a red-hot Flowery Branch team, 62-56. The Falcons advanced to 9-5 and now are winners of seven straight, but more importantly, owners of their first-ever Lanierland trophy.

The Vikings held a 15-11 lead after one behind two Triston Cooper threes. But once the second quarter rolled around, the basket got tighter and tighter for the host team. The senior would not score again in the game as East Hall managed to shoot just 15-of-58 from the field, 25 percent. While the Vikings hit rough waters, the Falcons began to take flight. Senior forward Gabe Holston scored seven points in the second quarter and finished tied for a game-high with 15 points. The 6-foot-3 forward’s rebounding was a difference in the game as he pounded the glass for 17 rebounds and was named tournament MVP following the game.

John Mills, one of the Falcons’ most lethal scorers, was saddled with foul trouble in the first half and scored just six points in the opening 16 minutes while running mate Brannon Clark chipped in seven to lead Flowery Branch to a 29-24 lead at the break.

At the 5:21 mark of the third quarter Flowery Branch extended its lead to a game-high 10 points at 36-26. Markese Jackson and Tylor Brown wouldn’t let the game get out of hand for the proud program. Both Jackson and Brown scored 15 apiece with the two combining for 22 points in the second half. The Vikings trailed 42-34 heading into the championship deciding final quarter.

Down eight, East Hall finally made its move and cut the lead to 52-47 with 2:14 remaining after Andy Lara drove and found Luke Cooper for a three from the top of the key. From that point on the Vikings were inclined to start fouling and it worked.

Trey Bailey and Holston combined to go 0-of-3 from the line as East Hall inched closer at 54-51 with 1:15 to play. With a minute left, Lara drove to the rim down four, but was whistled for a travel. The Vikings would have to foul Mills who sank both and made it 57-51 before the Falcons closed the game out at the line. Mills scored eight of his 14 points in the second half while Clark netted seven of his 14 in the last two periods.

There's nothing like Lanierland
There’s nothing like Lanierland

Top Performers

Flowery Branch
Gabe Holston – 15 points, 17 rebounds
Brannon Clark – 14 points, 5 rebounds
John Mills – 14 points
Trey Bailey – 8 points, 4 rebounds

East Hall
Tylor Brown – 15 points, 7 rebounds
Markese Jackson – 15 points, 3 rebounds
Luke Cooper – 11 points

Third Place Game

North Hall 73, West Hall 61

 

Top Performers

North Hall
Carson Heinen  – 21 points (15 in 2H), 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 block
Evan Easton – 25 points
Sam Jackson – 10 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal

West Hall
Dylan Curry – 28 points (22 in 1H), 2 steals
Xzavier Reid – 12 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, 3 blocks
Esteban Ulloa – 8 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists
Tyquan Statham – 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block

Game Stories, GHSA, GHSA Basketball

No. 1 Laney spoils No. 10 Thomson in clash of area’s best

As always, the incomparable Chad Cook (@AugBball) was on-hand to witness 3A No. 1 Laney (12-0) and 4A No. 10 Thomson (9-2) in a meeting of two of the Augusta area’s best teams. The Wildcats held on 62-58 at home.  Below is the Augusta Guru’s analysis. Be sure to visit his site for more coverage on this game and everything Augusta.

http://www.augbball.com/2015/12/laney-edges-thomson-improves-to-12-0.html