Dalton's Tristen Harrell, No. 20, tries to force his way past LaFayette's Jarrod Beamon, No. 22, during Tuesday night's game. Dalton High School played against LaFayette High School at Dalton on Tuesday night.DALTON, Ga. - The game will not go down as an artistic beauty, but Dalton's 56-49 basketball win over LaFayette on Tuesday may have been the prettiest thing Mike Duffie has seen all season.
This was a defensive slugfest and ultimately was won on that end. In a game that included 39 turnovers and a combined shooting rate that might have reached 25 percent, the Catamounts earned the win and the subregion's top seed in next week's Region 7-AAA tournament with floor burns.
"That was two good defensive teams going at it," Duffie said. "[The Ramblers] never are comfortable to play. They're so quick and they rebound so well. They've won 18 games and they haven't been by accident. I thought we had the game put away, but they made a run and made us work for it."
Dalton (18-6, 9-1) and LaFayette (18-4, 8-2) each will receive a first-round bye into the tournament quarterfinals next Wednesday, where a win would put them into the state tournament.
"Getting the No. 1 seed makes all the difference in the world," Duffie said. "We'll play a four or five seed instead of a two or three. The big key is we get away from Allatoona in the championship game, because they're head and shoulders the best team."
Dalton appeared to have things well in hand after riding Alex Bautista's 16 first-half points for a 28-17 lead, and when senior star Tristen Harrell hit a 3-pointer and followed with a putback of a missed free throw, the margin was 11 with 2:40 to play in the game. The Ramblers, however, didn't quit despite a shooting night with a horrid 1-of-20 3-point success.
The lone made 3 began a run of eight straight Jordan Teems points -- his only scoring in the game -- to cut Dalton's lead to three with 1:23 still to play. Missed free throws and a harassing LaFayette defense keyed the run.
Devarus Porter's drive cut the lead to one, but it would be the last points for the visitors.
Harrell and Julio Ringham split free throws around a strong defensive stand keyed by a Tre Beck blocked shot and another defensive stop when Teems was stripped in the lane and a jumped ball was forced. Rico Mears and Harrell hit four consecutive free throws to ice the game.
"We played well in the fourth quarter, but we turned the ball over too much and we didn't hit enough shots tonight," LaFayette coach Tommy Swanson said. "To their credit, though, they deserve to win. It's a credit to our guys that they kept fighting. We were out of the game several times, but we had our chances late and nearly stole one."
Harrell, despite fighting sickness, led Dalton with 17, followed by Bautista with 16. Jarrod Beamon came off the bench to lead LaFayette with 16.