RINGGOLD, Ga. — Mike Duffie calls Tristen Harrell the most underrated player in Georgia. After the week the senior wing has had, that’s all about to change.
Harrell pumped in 30 points, including two free throws with five seconds to play, to lift the Dalton past Ringgold in a wild 73-71 Region 7A-AAA game Friday. The Catamounts (15-6, 6-1) completed a sweep of the Tigers (18-3, 4-3), but not before almost giving the game away.
A 10-2 run early in the final period, keyed by back-to-back Tre Beck steals and layups, gave Dalton a 67-55 lead with four minutes to play. Ringgold rallied behind a gambling full-court press that created three turnovers in a stretch of just over a minute. Six Kile Sholl points and a 3-pointer from Matthew Crownover had the Tigers right back in it.
“It was crazy. We had the game won; it was over,” Dalton coach Mike Duffie said. “We made a couple of bad passes and, to their credit, they hit some big 3s. Then we started missing free throws after we had hit 13 in a row. At the end, though, we put in our star’s hands and he got the job done.
“It was a heck of a high school basketball game in front of a packed house. That’s why kids play high school basketball.”
The lead was 71-68 after Ringgold’s Steven Williams hit free throws with 1:27 to play, but seconds later the Tigers turned the ball over and the bench was hit with a technical foul. The Cats missed the two free throws, and then Williams made a steal and fed a driving Nick Scott, who made a layup, was fouled and converted the free throw to tie the game at 71.
Following empty possessions for each team, Dalton got the ball back with 34 seconds to play and put the ball in Harrell’s hands. The lanky Harrell, who missed his previous two free throws, was fouled 20 feet from the basket. This time, though, he hit nothing but net on the freebies.
“I already missed two in crunch time, but I knew I had to get to the line and make my shot,” said the Auburn University at Montgomery signee, who had 35 points in Dalton’s win Tuesday. “This is a big win for us, especially in front of such a loud crowd.”
Rico Mears added 11 points, with Alex Bautista and Julio Ringham getting 10 each for the winners. Crownover hit four 3-pointers on his way to a team-high 18 points for the Tigers, with Blake Womack adding 12 and Scott and Sholl 11 each.