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Game Stories, GHSA, GHSA Basketball

No. 7 Sprayberry survives OT shootout at Sequoyah, 103-101

No. 7 Sprayberry 103, Sequoyah 101 OT

Sequoyah Sprayberry

Following an explosive 96-88 first meeting back on January 5th, No. 7 Sprayberry (21-3, 14-1) and Sequoyah (18-6, 11-4) met in the War Lodge for an important Region 6-AAAAAA bout. With temperatures dropping to below freezing, the two offensive-minded clubs set Hickory Flat ablaze with one of the most entertaining games of the season.

The Chiefs got off to a quick start, leading 4-0 behind a Myles McGee breakaway slam, but Sprayberry saw DJ Patrick hit his first of the team’s 11 threes to get the Yellow Jackets on the board.

Sequoyah and Sprayberry traded baskets at a breakneck pace, but there was some defense sprinkled in as Patrick erased a DJ King layup attempt.

Justin Day ignited an 11-2 run with an offensive rebound and put-back which helped the Jackets push their lead to 27-19.

At the end of one, Sprayberry held a 27-21 lead as Patrick scored nine of his 14 points in the opening frame to pace the Yellow Jackets.

The Chiefs kept close as the trio of McGee, Donovan Shipp and Jacksen Greco attacked the basket, Greco floating in a shot in traffic to cut the Sprayberry lead to 42-36 with 2:28 left in the second.

But while Sequoyah slashed into the lane, Sprayberry bombed from deep with Shamar Joseph coming off the bench to nail three three-pointers in a row, building the Jacket advantage to 48-38. Sprayberry sank seven trifectas in the first half, but McGee buried a buzzer beater to send the Chiefs into the break down 50-41.

Sequoyah came out and trimmed the deficit to 52-46 but, but Sprayberry answered with a 9-2 run to extend the lead back to 61-48 at the 6:05 mark of the third quarter. 6-foot-5 sophomore Jaylin Galloway, younger brother of former Buford/Milton post Kyrin Galloway (UNCG), started to make his presence felt around the rim, balancing Sprayberry’s perimeter orientated offense by scoring eight points in the paint. Galloway’s bucket with 2:50 left gave Sprayberry a 69-56 lead before Sequoyah turned the tables.

The Chiefs ripped off an 8-0 run in a span of 1:36 to close the gap to 69-64 as Shipp and McGee carried the offense, scoring 10 and 9 points, respectively, while King brought his trademark high energy and athleticism on defense.

Sprayberry regained momentum after a defensive break down led to Joseph’s fourth three of the night as the Yellow Jackets took a 75-66 lead into the fourth.

The Yellow Jackets saw Matt Jenkins score six points in the quarter to help Sprayberry build an 85-73 lead with 4:14 remaining as the Jackets were on the verge of running Sequoyah out of the gym but over the final 254 seconds, the Chiefs’ aggressive press finally cracked Sprayberry.

A wild 14-2 run saw Sequoyah tie the game at 87 at the 1:18 mark after McGee cashed in on an And-1 but missed his free throw and saw Greco swoop in for the offensive rebound and game-tying put-back.

Sequoyah came away with a steal from McGee but he and King botched point-blank layup attempts with only one Sprayberry defender in initial position. The Chiefs missed another bunny up close but retained possession after a loose ball scramble with the arrow pointing in favor of the home team with 19.1 seconds remaining.

Shipp sliced to the basket with under 10 seconds to play and was denied by Galloway who collected the block and pitched ahead to Day who airmailed an outlet pass to a wide-open Jenkins, the ball sailing out of bounds as the Chiefs breathed a sigh of relief with 2.1 seconds left in regulation.

The Chiefs’ ensuing inbounds was stolen away but a tumbling Yellow Jacket couldn’t establish his footing and his falling down unbalanced heave at the buzzer fell well short from just 15 feet away, sending the game to overtime tied at 87.

Galloway’s interior presence loomed large in overtime as he scored seven of his team-high 27 points in the quarter to go along with his 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks on the night.

With 1:08 left to play, McGee slashed to the basket for an And-1 and knotted the game up at 99, but again, missed the free throw as the Chiefs failed to take the lead.

McGee got momentary redemption, hitting a tough shot in the lane for his 29th point of the night to tie the game at 101, but the Chiefs failed to get back in transition after the made bucket as the Yellow Jackets tossed ahead to Day for a layup to make it 103-101 with 14.1 seconds remaining.

The Chiefs had a final possession to tie the game and got the ball down low to McGee on a cutting post up, but as he pivoted toward the middle of the lane he was met with traffic and fumbled the ball away allowing Sprayberry to collect it and clear the ball out of harm’s way and tick off the final 3 seconds to secure the number one seed in Region 6-AAAAAA as No. 6 South Cobb fell to Allatoona 69-63.

My Take

It was a wildly entertaining game to watch. Both teams put on a good show offensively but lack state championship caliber defense. Sprayberry seems to have a higher ceiling than Sequoyah with their envious offensive depth as six players scored 12 points or more, five of them knocking down at least one three. When they are hot, Sprayberry can do damage from deep but it was the emergence of 6-foot-5 sophomore Jaylin Galloway who really carried the Yellow Jackets in the second half scoring 17 of his game-high 27 in the final three periods. He has nice length and a calm touch around the rim in traffic. He and 6-foot-5 senior DJ Patrick killed Sequoyah on the glass combining for 21 rebounds, dominating their matchup with 6-foot-4 Ayden Watson who grabbed just two rebounds for the Chiefs.  Shamar Joseph provided instant offense off the bench with four threes while Saigon Kitt and Justin Day chose their spots when to attack the defense. Senior Matt Jenkins was the engine for Sprayberry finishing with 20 points and 11 assists. Sprayberry has the guard play to play extremely fast but defensively, they have a lot of work to do if they want to make a deep run at state.

Donovan Shipp and the Chiefs sliced up Sprayberry’s on-ball defense, getting into the paint at an alarming rate. In fact, it was the most aggressive I’ve seen Shipp play in three years, attacking the basket at will finishing with a game-high 30 points and 6 assists. Shipp has grown tremendously over his first three seasons and should be a D-II target for schools looking for a heady assist-man that can score when he needs to. Myles McGee had 29 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals, but his night ended on a sour note with his 2-of-9 free throw shooting and turnover to end the game. Even with his shortcomings tonight, his gladiator mentality on the floor paired with the football toughness of gridiron teammate DJ King makes the athletic duo the most important pieces to Sequoyah’s full court press. King netted just 6 points but had 5 rebounds, 6 steals and 2 blocks, making his biggest impact defensively. Jacksen Greco had a strong 25-point outing, nailing 3 threes and collecting 6 rebounds and 4 assists in the process. His passing has improved year to year as he is developing into a well-rounded player breaking the mold of just a three-point specialist. Ayden Watson disappointed tonight against Sprayberry’s frontline. Watson has been integral to the Chiefs’ success this year providing size, energy and athleticism in the paint but he was a non-factor with 3 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals and 1 block. While Sprayberry struggled defending drives, Sequoyah’s bugaboo was poor rotations leading to too many wide-open three-point shooters. Both teams showed their strengths and weaknesses and in a classification void of a true favorite, both teams could see an Elite Eight berth as a real possibility depending on how the brackets and region tournaments play out.

Top Performers

Sprayberry
Jaylin Galloway – 27 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks
Matt Jenkins – 20 points, 3 rebounds, 11 assists, 1 steal
Saigon Kitt – 15 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist
DJ Patrick – 14 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block
Justin Day – 12 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals
Shamar Joseph – 12 points (4 threes), 1 rebound

Sequoyah
Donovan Shipp – 30 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals
Myles McGee – 29 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals
Jacksen Greco – 25 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assist, 1 steal, 1 block
DJ King – 6 points, 5 rebounds, 6 steals, 2 blocks

Game Stories, GHSA, GHSA Basketball

SEBA Atlanta Hoop Festival recap

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SEBA held its 9th annual Atlanta Hoop Festival at Pope High School. The event, run by William LoPresti, featured five games. I was in the building to check out the first three games of the day. Here are some notes from the action.

Game 1: Duluth 89, Sprayberry 68

 

Junior guard Adam Flagler set a SEBA record, pouring in 43 points. The smooth shooting guard drained 9 threes and didn’t start missing until he took some heat checks late in the game. Flagler has played great this year under Coach Cabral Huff and has definitely put his name on the radar of college coaches. Daylan “DJ” Smith and Jalen Hodges were second and third in command for the Wildcats. Hodges posted 13 points and 7 rebounds as a springy unsigned forward that goes about 6-foot-5. Smith, a junior guard, netted 14. Duluth was without 6-foot-10 sophomore Alex Powell.

Sprayberry saw Eddie Figueroa drop in 26 points before injuring his ankle late in the fourth quarter. The unsigned senior showed nice ball handling and a competitiveness to keep his team in the game for three quarters before Duluth finally ran away with it, outscoring the Yellow Jackets 25-15 in the fourth. Khadim Samb added 8 points and 9 rebounds. Andrew Giles methodically worked his way around the bucket for 10 points.

Top Performers

Adam Flagler poured in a SEBA record 43 points

 

Duluth
Adam Flagler – 43 points (9 threes), 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Jalen Hodges – 13 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 block
DJ Smith – 14 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal

Sprayberry
Eddie Figueroa – 26 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists, 4 steals
Khadim Samb – 8 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block
Andrew Giles – 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block

 

Game 2: Hillgrove 52, No. 4 St. Pius 39

 

St. Pius was held to two points in the second quarter as they saw Hillgrove race ahead to a 31-15 halftime lead. Heavy legs from two wars this week along with a Demeirre Black onslaught was too much to recover from. Black, a 6-foot senior guard, popped off from his first touch. Black was tight off the dribble, getting to the left wing and pulling up for three straight jumpers to open the game. He scored 11 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in the first quarter alone. Black plays bigger than his size and uses his quick leaping to crash the glass. He finished with 25 points, 14 rebounds and 4 steals as Coach Ed Morris’ go-to guy. Trey Stevens provided offense off the bench with 10 points.

The Golden Lions couldn’t hit a shot all game until the fourth quarter when they made a late run, but could never close to within single digits. They hit four threes in the final period but again, it was Black stemming the tide with a hoop. Carson Seramur led St. Pius with 8 points, but they all came in the first quarter. Zach Ranson got off to a slow start, but he battled hard on the glass and finished with 11 rebounds.

Top Performers

Demeirre Black played bigger than his 6-foot frame, dropping 25 points & 14 rebounds

Hillgrove
Demeirre Black – 25 points, 14 rebounds, 4 steals
Trey Stevens – 10 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 block

St. Pius
Carson Seramur – 8 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 block
Zach Ranson – 4 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist
Niko Broadway – 5 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal

 

Game 3: No. 4 North Cobb Christian 51, No. 3 South Paulding 49

 

A true stunner as South Paulding saw a 40-27 lead heading into the fourth quarter slip away. The Spartans out-physicaled and out-toughed the Eagles for the majority of the game, but Demiere Brown was a one-man wrecking crew. South Paulding held a 25-16 lead at the half after DJ Jackson buried a three at the buzzer.  Jackson played great for Coach Gil Davis as the floor general picked up the slack scoring 15 points while Ja’Cori Wilson played sporadic minutes with a stomach bug before fouling out with 5 points with South Paulding nursing a 44-34 lead with 5:49 to play.

Upon his departure, North Cobb Christian closed on a 17-5 run to steal a victory away from the Spartans, riding Brown. The powerful 6-foot-6 senior wing poured in 31 points and 14 rebounds, pounding away at South Paulding’s smaller guards. Brown has to find a home at the D-1 level. That strength and diversity of ways to score the ball is something programs across the country must covet. He didn’t settle for too many threes and buttered his bread around the basket today.

South Paulding admittedly took the air out of the ball too soon while dealing with foul trouble and a lack of size. It wasn’t until the 4:57 mark when Hunter Norman tossed an alley-oop to Mo Merritt to make it 44-38 that I actually felt that North Cobb Christian had a chance. The Eagles’ fan base went rabid as all the momentum officially swung into their corner. The Spartans still could have put the game away, but Georgia State-signee Kane Williams couldn’t find his touch from the foul line. He went 5-of-10 in the fourth quarter and 7-of-14 for the game. Aside from his free throw woes, Williams was able to affect the game from the floor. He finished with 16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals while getting others involved.

North Cobb Christian got a huge lift down the stretch from Norman, Nate Perrin and Will Crumly. Perrin didn’t play much, but he came off the bench and rattled in a three to make it 47-43 with 3:14 remaining. I warned that Crumly was still dangerous even though he was ice cold for three quarters from deep. Crumly blocked a Williams shot inside and a minute later he drilled a three to bring the score to 49-48 with 1:09 to play. Crumly put the ball on the floor and got to the line and split a pair of free throws to knot the game at 49 with 1:00.

With South Paulding holding for one shot, Parker Berry lost his dribble in front of Norman who pounced on the floor to give the Eagles the ball with 24.9 left.

North Cobb Christian held for one shot and they found Brown on a duck-in in the middle of the lane. He caught it and hit a lefty hook with 1.8 seconds left.

Originally, they let the clock run off. North Cobb Christian stormed the court and mobbed Brown in a dogpile, but after reviewing, the officials put the correct 1.8 seconds left on the clock. The referees had the opportunity to call a technical with the Eagles team running on the floor, but due to the circumstances they let it go.

South Paulding had one last look when freshman Knowledge Ruben heaved from half court, but his shot bounced off the rim leaving the Spartans shell-shocked and the Eagles jubilant.

 

Top Performers

Demiere Brown is a defense’s nightmare. He had 31 points & 14 rebounds.

North Cobb Christian
Demiere Brown – 31 points, 14 rebounds, 1 steal
Mo Merritt – 5 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block
Will Crumly – 6 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks
Chase Savage – 6 points, 1 rebound

South Paulding
Kane Williams – 16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals
DJ Jackson – 15 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 3 steals
Drew Shepherd – 7 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals
Ja’Cori Wilson – 5 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block