CALHOUN, Ga. -- In analyzing his team's 52-42 loss to Cedar Grove in Saturday night's GHSA Class AAA boys' second-round playoff basketball game, Calhoun coach Vince Layson summed up the proceedings rather succinctly.
"We struggled to get open shots, and when we did we had a hard time knocking them down," said Layson, whose team was held 24 points under its season average by the long, athletic Saints. "It was a bad night shooting for us, but they had a little something to do with it. They played great defense and gave our guards problems with pressure."
Cedar Grove (20-4) led from start to finish, building an 18-8 lead two minutes into the second period and holding off two Calhoun runs while also battling early foul troubles. Kenneth Lewis hit four 3-pointers in the first nine minutes to help loosen the Calhoun zone defense, but after Makale Carter's layup gave the visitors the 10-point lead, the Yellow Jackets roared back.
A pair of Jireh Wilson free throws ignited a 9-0 run that cut the lead to one, seemingly righting the ship that had been thrown off course by a Cedar Grove front line that stood 6-foot-7, 6-6 and 6-5 and a harassing pair of guards. However, the Saints closed the half with a 5-2 run while also holding the ball for long periods of time to protect the players in foul trouble and to get Calhoun (22-4) out of its zone.
"We're not extremely deep so we wanted to shorten the game some," Cedar Grove coach James Martin said. "We took care of the ball tonight, and we disrupted what they wanted to do."
The Saints' patience seemed to throw the Jackets off, as did the third-period play of guard Christopher Fredrick, who scored nine of his team's 11 points in the frame while also doing most of the ball handling.
"I was expecting more of a helter-skelter type game," Layson said. "But all the credit goes to them for making every shot they had to make and when we put them on the free throw line they hit them."
Down six entering the final period and by eight after a Carter putback to start it, Calhoun made one more push. A Wilson 3-pointer and a Landon Rice putback cut the margin to three and the Jackets missed two shots to cut it further. After Kaelen Riley's two free throws cut the lead to four with 3:13 left, Calhoun did not score again for nearly two minutes.
The Saints, meanwhile, hit 11 of 14 free throws in the period to thwart any further rally attempt. Fredrick led Cedar Grove with 19 points and was the chief culprit for Calhoun's 21 turnovers with five steals. Lewis added 18 points and Jacara Cross, in foul trouble most of the night, had three blocked shots to go with nine points.
Riley, who had 16 rebounds, and Wilson led Calhoun with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Layson, though disappointed with the ending, said his team, which returns all five starters next season, will learn from it.
"I know these guys are upset and this wasn't what we wanted, but this is something we can build on for next season," he said. "We have a nice core coming back, and we'll take a couple of weeks off and get back at it."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296.