RINGGOLD, Ga. – Greg Elkins wasn’t ready to give up, even down five with 3:42 on the opposing team’s court in the Georgia Sub-Region 6-AAA North boys’ championship at Heritage Wednesday.
The young Ringgold coach called a timeout, imploring his veteran team to make something happen. The Tigers responded with a quick 7-0 run and held the Generals to one field goal over the final 4:20 in a quirky 54-52 win.
Ringgold, Heritage, third-place LaFayette and Ridgeland will represent the north sub-region in this weekend’s region tournament at Cartersville.
“We had beaten Heritage twice coming in and we knew coach (Kevin) Terry would have them ready for us,” said Elkins, his face still tight with emotion. “We had one last rally and we were able to hold them off. We’re a pretty senior-laden team, which gives us a lot of leadership. They really stepped up tonight and I’m so proud of the guys. They earned this.”
Ringgold (19-7) trailed 50-45 when Nick Scott made a steal and layup, one of four consecutive deadly turnovers for the Generals. Barrett Johnson followed with another steal and basket and Steven Williams made one of two free throws to tie the game at 50 with 2:32 left.
Following an Elkins timeout, the Tigers took the lead for good on a Martez Eastland layup off a crisp pass from Desmond Law. The lead was three when Heritage missed three 3-point attempts on one possession, then grew to four on a Scott free throw with 21 seconds to go.
Heritage, after a Jake Raines basket cut the lead to two, had a shot to tie the game or take the lead with four seconds to go, but another turnover ended the upset dreams.
“We just wanted it really bad,” said Eastland, who had 11 points and eight rebounds. “I think we surprised a lot of people because no one was picking Ringgold to win this tournament. Now we have to keep it up at the region tournament. We’re playing our best right now.”
Scott led the Tigers with 17 points, with Johnson adding 16. Heritage was paced by Treas Jackson’s 10 points.