WS Chronicle

BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY 

THE CHRONICLE

In the final game of the first round of the Lash/Chronicle tournament, Thomasville seemed to be cruising to an easy victory against Glenn.  The Bulldogs led by what seemed to be an insurmountable 20 points at the half.  Glenn never gave up and once they went to the full court press in the second half, they began to inch back into the game and won in the final seconds by the score of 58-56.

The game had a little extra fire because of the connection between the two head coaches.  Glenn head coach Chris Geter was once a protege of Thomasville head coach Robert Moore Jr. and the two are good friends to this day.  Geter and Moore coached together on the Atkins staff from 2006-2010.

“We had a good run over at Atkins and we met a lot of great kids,” said Geter.  “We did a lot of good things, there and I give that man all the respect in the world. I learned a lot from him.”

As the two teams started play in the first quarter, defense held serve early on.  Thomasville held a 10-4 lead while Glenn was having trouble penetrating their 2-3 zone defense.  At the end of the first quarter Thomasville led 15-11.

It was a totally different story in the second quarter as Thomasville took full control of the game.  Tyree Barnes heated up from downtown, which put the Bulldogs up 25-13. Turnovers started to mount for the Bobcats that led to fastbreak opportunities for Thomasville extending the lead.  At the half, Thomasville led 37-17.

To start the third quarter, Glenn went to a full court press to speed up the pace of the game.  With Javon Cunningham being the only reliable ball handler for the Bulldogs, beating the press would be a difficult task. Early on Thomasville seemed to be up to the challenge as they were able to beat the press most times and answered any run Glenn could muster.  At the end of the third, Thomasville still led 50-27.

The full court press finally had its desired effect for Glenn in the fourth quarter.  The Bobcats began to create turnovers and hit shots at a high rate.  They cut their deficit to 10 at 53-43 behind solid defense and clutch shooting from JaQuay McMillan, Daniel Napper and Benjamin Williams.

By continuing to press they closed the gap to one and finally took the lead at 56-55 with 40 seconds left to play. Thomasville hit a free throw to tie the game but Williams stepped to the line in the final seconds after being fouled and drained two big time free throws to end the game.

It was instant jubilation for the Bobcats and the entire crowd.  Geter said he lit a fire under his kids at halftime that pumped them up for a second-half push.

“I always tell my kids to never quit and play until the end,” Geter said.  “From the time the ball tips off until the time that horn goes off we are going to play until the end. I don’t care what the score is, if we don’t work, we don’t eat.”

On beating his mentor, Geter said, “It feels real good because if we would have gotten beaten by 20 he would have never let me live that down.”

Geter says that this win will propel his team to next week’s quarterfinal game against Parkland.  He said he knows they are a good team, but his team is ready for them.

Moore said when Glenn went to the full court press, he could see the concern on his team.  He says it felt as though no one wanted to take control of the ball.  Moore says he told his team that Glenn would make a run and to be prepared for it.

Moore went on to say that he was very happy for Glenn and his friend Geter going forward.