Wednesday, February 21, 2001
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Wednesday, February 21, 2001 |
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Sandy Creek goes 1-2 in region tournament, makes state tourney By MICHAEL BOYLAN The Sandy Creek Patriots faced Woodward Academy in their first game of the Region 4-AAAA tournament. According to Coach Rick Francis, "It was a struggle." The Patriots led the War Eagles 19-8 after the first quarter but only scored two points in the second quarter and found themselves down 22-21 at the half. The Patriots got back into the game after the half, leading 36-32 going into the fourth and then playing to a 57-46 win. L.T. Lockett led Sandy Creek in scoring with 21 points, while William Belton added 15 points. Corey Adams scored nine points and Aaron Honeycutt scored eight points. "That second quarter was probably the worst quarter we played all year," said Francis. "Woodward stayed composed and executed on both sides of the ball. Luckily, we pulled ourselves back together and pulled it out." The second game pitted the Patriots against the Westlake Lions, a team that Sandy Creek lost to twice during the regular season. Sandy Creek led 17-12 after the first quarter and entered the half tied with the Lions at 35. Westlake had a one point advantage going into the fourth quarter and then hit all of their free throws when the Patriots had to foul, leading to a 74-60 win. "The game was much closer than the score indicated," said Francis. "Westlake just didn't miss." Lockett led the team in scoring with 25 points, while Belton added 18 and Adams scored seven points. The final game of the tournament had Sandy Creek face Creekside as the two teams battled for the third and fourth positions heading into the state tournament. Sandy Creek led 20-10 after the first quarter and 29-27 at the half but Creekside controlled the second half leading 41-37 after the third quarter and winning 60-49. "Fatigue may have played a factor," said Francis. "We made a lot of unforced turnovers. But Creekside also did better on the free throw line. We went 8 for 21 while they went 8 for 13." Adams led the team in scoring with 20 points while Lockett added 16. The Patriots (20-8) will open the state tournament on Friday as they will face Dougherty at Jones County High School. The game will be played at 4 or 5:30 p.m. |
