LaFAYETTE, Ga. - Amid raucous surroundings Thursday inside his team's gymnasium, LaFayette boys' basketball coach Hank Peppers said he kept preaching the same message to his players during each timeout down the stretch in his team's second-round game in the GHSA state tournament.
"I kept telling them, 'Stay as calm as possible. That will help the situation,'" Peppers said. "It paid off."
It paid off in a 53-51 Ramblers victory over Jefferson.
LaFayette Ramblers celebrate winning their home game in the second round of the GHSA state basketball playoffs.This is the first time LaFayette (25-2) has hosted two playoff games in one basketball season - and the first time a Ramblers team has advanced to the state tournament's third round. It could get a third home playoff game, depending on the outcome of a coin flip with Upson-Lee, which will be the opponent in the next round.
When asked if he had any nervousness about venturing further in the playoffs than any previous LaFayette boys' basketball team, guard Alex Kelehear said: "Not right now. I'm sure that will set in before the next game."
Thursday's game was close all the way. A key fourth-quarter stretch for the Ramblers was when they turned a 40-36 deficit into a 46-41 lead.
"When you play a team that fouls you a lot, the referees aren't going to call everything or you'll be here until tomorrow," Peppers said. "The main thing I told them was to focus on executing, just like you were in the gym by yourself."
Kelehear, who saw plenty of double-teams the later the game got, made two 3-point shots while scoring 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter.
"It was very physical," Kelehear said. "I think it helped us that we'd been in these types of games before. People think it's just me they need to stop, but we've got so many good players on this team."
Dee Southern led the Ramblers with 19 points. He scored the final point on a free throw with 8.6 seconds left; then they were able to hang on when Daniel Parker's hurried 3-point shot from the left corner fell short.
Jon Morgan had a key blocked shot late in the game for LaFayette, too.
"Everybody stepped up big time," Kelehear said. "We had some huge defensive plays down the stretch. I thought we played pretty decent defense the whole game. It wasn't our best offensive performance. Our defense won it for us."
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him on Twitter @KelleySmiddie.