LaFAYETTE, Ga. - Prior to Tuesday's tipoff at LaFayette, Heritage High School boys' basketball coach Kevin Terry wasn't exactly sure what kind of team he had.
With only two players returning with much varsity experience and facing an unbeaten LaFayette team on the road, Terry was eager to see the results of this early litmus test. The Generals didn't disappoint, using a stellar night from center Cole Wilcox and strong defensive play from his guards to hand the Ramblers their first defeat, 65-63.
"Coming in we had played five games and these kids have shown they have so much heart," Terry said. "But they haven't executed yet, with so many new faces. Tonight some of it started to click a little bit, and we're starting to show some chemistry.
"It's a huge win for our program and for this team to build a little confidence. We've won a little bit, but we didn't have a lot of confidence, so this is big."
Heritage (5-1, 2-0 in Region 6-AAAA) made a statement early that it would not back down, using a strong inside-out passing game featuring Wilcox to build a 20-14 lead after one period. Guards Tylon Gaines and Luke Grant consistently penetrated the lane and more times than not passed to the hard-working Wilcox inside, who when instantly double-teamed would pass out for wide-open jump shots.
"Our guards did a good job of driving and getting penetration, and all I had to do was make a shot," said Wilcox, who led the Generals with 20 points and 12 rebounds. "LaFayette is really good, and this was an awesome environment."
Heritage had to overcome another strong performance from LaFayette guard Tyrease Hunter, who scored 30 points and led a second-half comeback after the Ramblers (7-2, 2-1) found themselves down 42-31 two minutes into the third period.
Hunter scored 10 points in a 15-4 run, tying the game on a 3-pointer with 1:05 left in the quarter. Wilcox, though, gave Heritage a lead it wouldn't relinquish with a tip-in and a layup off a sweet pass from Gaines to give the Generals a 50-48 lead heading into the fourth.
After a Wilcox putback of his own miss gave Heritage a six-point lead with 3:28 to play, LaFayette switched to a full-court press and seemed to unnerve the Generals.
An Alex Kelehear short jumper cut the lead to two with a minute to play and Hunter was later fouled on a drive, but he hit just one of two free throws to make it a one-point game.
The lead was two with seven seconds to play when Hunter raced down court and pulled up at the 3-point line to try for the win. However, the shot was just short and the Generals escaped with the early statement win.
"LaFayette is so talented with their guards and they have four or five of them out there all the time, so you've got to worry about their shot and their drives," Terry said. "They've been playing really well, including a win at Northwest (Whitfield) Friday, so to come in here and hand them a region loss is huge."
Blake Bryan added 14 points for Heritage, while Kelehear had 14 and Dee Southern 12 for LaFayette.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfree press.com or call 423-757-6296; follow on Twitter @youngsports22.