Friday, Mar. 4, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | HeartbreakerSandy Creek mounts comeback in semifinal, falls in overtimeThe first half of the AAAA semifinal game between Tucker and Sandy Creek might have featured some of the worst minutes the Patriots have played all season. The first 16 minutes of the game saw a few flashes of brilliance for the team from Tyrone but more often saw poor shot selection, errant passes and trouble penetrating the lanes. While Sandy Creek floundered to a 17-9 deficit at the end of the first quarter and a 29-11 deficit four minutes later, Tuckers dynamic duo of Damian Duncan and Cameron Tatum took advantage, hitting huge three pointers and connecting on several alley-oops. It looked like it would be a long night for Sandy Creek and their fans. With under four minutes to play in the second quarter, the Patriots woke up. Aaron Caruthers hit a three pointer, Michael Gates scored two and Sandy Creek got a big block. Within a minute, Sandy Creek had scored seven points and though they appeared to take one step forward and two steps back for a bit, they had cut Tuckers lead to 10 at the half. It could have been a lot worse. If the first half had been one of Sandy creeks worst periods of basketball this season, the second half may have been their best. The Patriots opened the third quarter with a 7-0 run. Tucker opened up a larger lead but quickly got flustered and ended up being called for two technical fouls in a row. Caruthers made three of the four free throws and by the end of the third quarter Sandy Creek only trailed by three points. The fourth quarter saw the two teams trade baskets but halfway through the final quarter Sandy Creek was able to tie the game. Thirty seconds later they would take their first lead since the opening minutes of the game. The Tigers and Patriots would battle for the remaining three minutes with Sandy Creek taking a three point lead with 19 seconds to go. Tucker took the ball down the court and hit a three pointer to tie the game. Sandy Creek had enough time for a final shot but the ball got kicked out of bounds, forcing an overtime. In overtime, Tucker scored the first two baskets and Sandy Creek was forced to play catch-up during the entire shortened period. They got close but Tucker was able to hold them off by making key foul shots down the stretch. The final score was 75-71 and Sandy Creek was forced to take the long bus ride home with the taste of a victory still left in their mouth. We came out sluggish early but fought back hard, said Coach Darrell Evans. Unfortunately, we just ran out of gas. Evans stated that he was proud of his teams effort and thought that Charles Belton had a particularly good game penetrating a tough Tucker defense. Belton had 14 points, as did Daniel Hendricks. Caruthers led the team in scoring with 19 points and Kevin Lott, who ran into early foul trouble but had a monster second half, finished with 10 points. Marcus Erves also had a solid game scoring eight points and producing a lot of intangibles with his defensive effort. The entire starting lineup graduates for the Patriots and though their season ended early, they will always have the memory of making it further than any team in school history. |
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