MACON — Relief.
That was Darren Douglas’s first thought after his Grovetown Warriors defeated Buford for Columbia County’s first state basketball title Friday 66-59 at the Macon Centreplex.
“It’s been a lot of work, but I didn’t want to throw the work away,” he said after the battle on the court.
The first quarter was a low scoring one, with it even at the close.
Tied at 12 going into the second quarter, the Warriors took the lead early. K.J. Kency put up two three-pointers within seconds of each other; followed by a third with 5:09 to go.
Free throws by Malik Ferguson, and a crowd-pleasing slam dunk from Frankquon Sherman added to the Warriors’ lead.
Grovetown’s student section was full with teens firing off chants to Buford’s student section that they couldn’t hear them.
The quarter ended at the free throw line where much of the time period was held. There were more than 17 fouls in the second quarter. Grovetown went to the locker room at the half 32-19.
It only took 31 seconds for the first foul of the third quarter, putting the Warriors’ Markel Freeman at the line, where he scored the first point of the second half.
The crowd erupted as the Wolves headed toward their goal and Freeman ripped the ball out of the air, passing it to Sherman who dunked it in front of the Grovetown student section.
Buford tied with 1:04 left in the third, despite committing 10 fouls in the period. Free throws by Derrion Reid put the Warriors back ahead. They ended the third leading 47-43.
The Wolves opened the fourth with the first points, but the Warriors responded with two.
Sherman pushed the Warriors up by seven with a three pointer. With 2:10 left in the game, Sherman added another two at the free throw line to stretch the lead to nine – 58-49.
The Wolves didn’t lie down though, pulling to within three with 1:11 left in the game 59-56.
Ferguson retaliated with two, putting the Warriors up 61-56 with 50 seconds left.
Buford brought it to within a basket with 26 second left in the game before taking a time out, but the Warriors put more points on the board including a slam dunk by Sherman as the clock wound down.
Douglas said being the first state title holder in the county was a cool thing for people to talk about, but he said he’ll be the same person at the end of the day.
The Warriors ended the season with a 29-3 overall record.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the managing editor of The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com
