Warriors advance to 3A South Finals
By By Marty Stamper / EMG sports assistant
Feb. 19, 2003
CHOCTAW Choctaw Central (26-6) held off Hazlehurst (21-9) to advance to the Class 3A Boys' South State Final Four, with a 65-62 victory Tuesday night.
Choctaw will face Raleigh, a 74-71 winner over Forrest County AHS, in Friday's first round matchup.
"That's a great accomplishment for this team," said Choctaw head coach Scott Thomas of being one of eight boys' teams in Class 3A still alive. "They play their hearts out every night. You can't ask for any more."
The Warriors were hot from long range early in the contest, as four different players combined for five three-pointers in the opening quarter.
Choctaw's long-range marksmenship gave the home team a 21-18 advantage after the first quarter.
"I think that coming out hot saved us," Thomas said. "We got a little lead, and we didn't have to play catch up."
The Warriors had only three more treys the rest of the game.
"I think they were defending us better," Thomas said. "They were real athletic, and we had a hard time getting good shots. We shot the ball well overall, but they were a good defensive team. They made it hard for us. We had to work for our shots."
The Warriors led by as many as 10 points in the second quarter before the Indians cut their deficit to 30-25, with 3:18 remaining.
Hazlehurst climbed back into the contest without the services of big man Johnny Sanders, who picked up his third foul a minute into the second quarter.
Sanders sat out the rest of the half, and Choctaw took a 37-30 lead into intermission.
The Indians' big man, who had nine points in the first half, picked up his fourth foul of the game 34 seconds into the third quarter.
Neither team was able to make any ground in the third quarter, as the squads were unable to score more than three points in a row without the other responding.
The Indians grabbed their first lead, since a 4-3 advantage at the start of the game, on a Sanders' basket, with 5:55 left in the game.
Sanders score gave Hazelhurst a 50-49 lead, but he fouled out 12 seconds after converting the score.
Beasley Willis' three-pointer gave the host team a 57-55 lead, with 2:14 remaining in the game.
Lee pulled the Indians even at 57 on the Indians' next possession, but Shaun Dougherty converted a three-point to give the Warriors a 61-57 lead, with 1:09 left.
Duran Morris hit two free throws with 46 seconds to go, and Dougherty added two more with 10.3 seconds left following a three-pointer by Hazlehurst's Danven Gary.
Clinging to a 65-62 lead, the Warriors turned the ball over with 1.7 seconds left when Anslem Henry's inbounds pass from underneath his basket sailed out of bounds into the Warriors' bench without being touched.
Hazlehurst returned the favor when its inbounds pass went out of bounds with 1.1 seconds left.
Dougherty led the Warriors' offense with had 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Roderick Anderson scored 12 points, Deon Lewis had 10, Willis nine, and Henry six.
Stephen Smith tallied a team-high 19 points for Hazelhurst. Rashaun Lee scored 12, Sanders 11, Gary nine, and Damon Carroll seven.
"They were solid," Thomas said. "They were a real athletic team. We gave up way too many offensive rebounds and putbacks. That was our weakness. We didn't rebound very well. We're going to have to do a better job of that."
