CHICKAMAUGA, Ga. — Darius Moten was supposed to be the main story in the Region 6-A first-place basketball showdown Friday at Gordon Lee High School. Derek Roberts had other ideas.
While the Bowdon big man, a Division I prospect, came in with the big reputation, it was Gordon Lee’s Roberts who controlled the inside as the Trojans inched closer to the region’s regular-season championship with a 62-51 win.
“I’ll take my big guy any day,” Gordon Lee coach Ed Clendenen said after Roberts outscored Moten 14-12, out-rebounded him 10-9 and added four steals. “I thought he outplayed him 10-to-1 tonight. Derek Roberts is, in my opinion, the player of the year in this region.”
Though Roberts and the Trojans’ defense was stout all night in front of a racous home crowd, the team’s offense in the first half was anything but. Gordon Lee (16-5, 9-0) missed an array of layups and 3-point shots, most of the wide-open variety, and trailed 23-19 at halftime.
The deficit was still five midway through the third period when freshman Daniel Brooks stepped to the front. The guard, who was questionable entering the game because of a sprained ankle, hit three consecutive 3s as the Trojans tied the game at 33. Senior guard Grayson Chambers gave them the lead, 37-35, with a steal and layup and a fadeaway jumper at the period’s buzzer.