.Decatur Boys Down Chattooga 58-43 - Advance to Sweet Sixteen
By Bill Banks |
Nic Wilson claims that last Monday's 29-point loss to Greater Atlanta Christian was dead and gone and thoroughly buried even before the final buzzer sounded. "By the fourth quarter [on Monday]," he said, "by our last two timeouts, we weren't even thinking GAC. We were already talking about tonight (Friday)."
Friday, in the first ever on-campus state playoff game, this is didn't even look like the same Decatur squad. Playing with confidence, authority, and a defensive mastery not always seen on the high school level, Decatur thoroughly dispatched highly-strung Chattooga, out of Region 7B-AA, 58-43.
The Bulldogs roared to an 11-1 lead as Chattooga, averaging nearly 70 points a game, didn't get its first field goal until 1:25 left in the first quarter. Even after a frenetic, nearly desperate 2:18 surge -- much like a horse that's been given a sudden, deep stroke of the whip -- that saw the visitors tie the game, it was only a matter of time before Decatur took control of the reigns and wrestled all drama out of this one.
Chattooga was simply too small, too loose defensively, and displayed a way-too-erratic-shot selection, to stay in this game for long. Plus, the one player who caused Decatur legitimate match-up concerns, 6-1 post Spencer Williams -- he finished with 15 points, the only Chattoogan in double figures -- spent much of the night benched due to either foul problems or a bloody elbow.
The result was a win that, if not easy, was at least professionally accomplished with a sleeves-rolled-to-the-elbows manner of efficiency. It was by the far the fewest points scored all season by Chattooga, a team that had never fallen below 53 points, and had been held to below 60 points only seven times in 26 games before Friday.
Therefore Decatur, 22-5, advances to the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season. The Bulldogs will play 18-7 Callaway in Hogansville Tuesday night (game time still undecided, though it appears it will be no later than 7:00 p.m. and possibly as early as 6:00 p.m.). After seeing a large lead cut to two with 1:30 left Friday, Callaway eventually prevailed over Dawson County 59-50
Though Chattooga deflected Decatur's early flurry of blows and even delivered a few of its own - typing matters at 11 -- the home team never buckled at the knees. "We wanted to knock ‘em out early," Nic said, "but they came back. They hit some shots. At that point the game is tied and you want to hit a 10-point shot to get your lead back. But, you know, there's no such thing. Besides this is playoff basketball. You have to get one basket at a time, you have to chip away, and that's what we did."
When Trumon Jefferson scored on a drive -- a lunging burst where he bobbled the ball, regained control and then shot, all while in midair -- Decatur led 13-11 with 5:06 left in the first half and never trailed again. From there the lead was built to 25-16 at halftime, which surely must've been Chattooga's lowest-scoring half in recent memory.
"They're used to getting at least 16 a quarter," head coach Carter Wilson said. "It has always been my belief that victory almost always favors the team that defends. Tonight we just did a great job. We made every shot tough for them, and we made every catch tough.
"The player who worried us the most," he added, "was [6-1 wing Rashad Ramsey, Chattooga's leading scorer at 19 points]. When we scouted him, we saw where he could shoot from out, or take it to the hole. But tonight he gets only 8 points. I think that sums up our entire effort tonight."
Decatur systematically increased its lead, eventually to 20 points at 54-34 when Nic hit Ron Boyd for a lay-up with 4:11. Later in the quarter Nic, starting from the high post, rumbled past his man for a one-hand dunk and Decatur's final basket. Nic finished with a game-high 22 points, while Trumon had 16, and must've corralled around 15 rebounds.
Currently ranked seventh in the state, Decatur officially closed out it‘s first home season in the brand-new, sparkling Decatur High School Performing Arts Center and Gymnasium, and did so before one of the larger crowds all year. But as Wilson told his team after the game, "This is only one pebble tossed into pond. We still have another four to go."
Tuesday's opponent is likely a far heftier stone. Callaway reminds assistant David Harbin -- who scouted the Callaway-Dawson County game Friday -- of Manchester, the team Decatur beat in last year's first round. Harbin (who, incidentally, was the starting point on Decatur's last Final Four team in 2003) said that Callaway is another up-and-down team, with good shooters and superb athletes who press most of the game. He also said Callaway will frequently change defenses from man, to 2-3, to 1-2-2 and others.
Looking at the scores, once again this appears to be team averaging around 70 per game. Decatur and Callaway do have one common opponent in Lovett, which Callaway beat 84-67 back on Dec. 22 (Decatur played Lovett three times winning by 20, 32 and 21 points).
"The ideal that we strive for," Carter Wilson said, "is that we want our best game to be the last game of the season. Well, we sure haven't played our last game yet. And I'm convinced we haven't come close to playing our best game yet, either."
Clean Sweep for Region 6-AA
After Friday's victory over Chattooga, we asked Wilson how he compared Region 6-AA with the state's other double-AA regions. He replied that "I think every coach out there will tell you their region is the toughest. But I look at our region with the talent, the depth of coaching and the tough defense that just about everyone plays, and I don't see how anyone can be better than us this year."
He said this before later learning that all four Region 6-AA teams won their state playoff games What some may consider the biggest upset of the night (though Wilson certainly wouldn't agree) Westminster abruptly eliminated powerful Dade County (25-4, ranked third, and ranked anywhere from one through five almost all season) 83-81. Greater Atlanta manhandled 8-21 Temple, 87-27 (no surprise there) while Blessed Trinity destroyed fifth-ranked and 23-6 Rockmart 65
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