East Hamilton basketbal coach Rodney English gave his guard Justin Dozier one goal for Saturday when the Hurricanes squared off against Bradley Central in the District 5-AAA tournament semifinals at Soddy-Daisy.
While Dozier did not reach that mark, the junior did just about everything else and his all-around performance helped guide his team to a 70-63 win over the Bears.
"I gave him a goal of 38 points and eight rebounds," English said. "He did not quite hit that mark, but I absolutely love him. I thought he was good the entire game. He scored it for us, he defended the best player in the league and set up his team. I don't know what else I could have asked from him."
With the win, East Hamilton (21-9) will face Cleveland on Monday in the District 5-AAA title game. Bradley Central (18-9) will play in the consolation game against Walker Valley.
East Hamilton erupted in the second period after a tightly contested first quarter in which Dozier and Noah Fager scored 12 of the Hurricanes' first 14 points. They jumped out to a lead as big as 10 after Andrew Williams' layup capped an 11-2 run and went into the locker room up 29-20.
The Hurricanes got the 3-point stroke going in the third. hitting four 3s and increasing the lead to 42-29. The 13-point lead was the largest of the night.
But the Bears narrowed the margin to one after reeling off 12 straight points, thanks to John Brown turning a couple of steals into points. However, East Hamilton answered with a Dozier 3-pointer, ultimately putting the game out of reach.
"I think it means a lot for our program," English said. "With our school only being 8 years old, we are doing a lot of firsts this year. We have a great group of kids that are executing the things we put in front of them. I could not be more proud of them."
Dozier finished with 20 points, 11 coming in the first half. Fager and Cameron Montgomery scored 14 points apiece.
Bradley Central's Lameric Tucker scored a game-high 21 points, scoring 15 in the second half. Cole Copeland added 19 points, while Brown added 13.
With Walker Valley playing the consolation game, there will be a new district champion in 2017. East Hamilton will look to accomplish that feat for the first time.
"This year I just feel like we are on the same page," Dozier said. "We've got a lot of chemistry together. Last year our goal was to make it first out of district play, and we did not do that. Now we have that chance back."
Contact Anthony Sigismond at sports@timesfreepress.com.