CHATSWORTH, Ga. – Less was definitely more for the Troup County Tigers on Wednesday night in their GHSA Class AAA second-round boys’ playoff game at Murray County.
Troup had made a living all season with its fullcourt, pressing style of defense, but when Murray began ripping it to shreds, Tigers’ coach Thurmond Billingslea decided to back off and play a halfcourt man-to-man defense that still maintained an aggressive nature. The result was a dominating second half as Troup eliminated the Indians, 82-70.
Troup (24-4) will face top-ranked Columbia on Saturday in the quarterfinal round at the Northwest Georgia Trade Center. Murray County, a team with 10 seniors, ends its season at 26-3.
“This was the best-coached group we’ve played,” Billingslea said. “They knew each other very, very well. We’ve played folks more athletic at times, but no one that knew where each other was on the floor all the time.”
That familiarity led to eight layups in a first period that saw Murray point guard Zach England orchestrate successful fastbreak after successful fastbreak. It was then Billingslea decided to pull back and let his team’s superior quickness clog up passing lanes and stop any penetration.