Fourth quarter woes on offense and defense doom Northeast against Therrell; roundup

The Raiders' head coach talked about losing Darius Dunn for a little bit, a defensive breakdown, and a great year despite playing on the road from day one.

Video: Michael A. Lough/The Sports Report of Central Georgia, www.centralgasports.com

          Holding on to a lead becomes more difficult, especially in the postseason, when your go-to player is sidelined with serious cramps.
          Then when a comeback is necessary, in part because that player had to hydrate in a hurry, defensive breakdowns make rallies tough.
          In Northeast’s case, the two combined to end the Raiders’ season.
          Darius Dunn scored on a runner with  2:39 left in the third quarter and came down with a major cramp, his team up by five. Northeast trailed upon his return for the fourth quarter, and Therrell took advantaged of a not-100-percent Dunn and some defensive lapses to take a 68-57 win in the GHSA Class AA quarterfinal at Southwest.
          “When Darius Dunn went down, that hurt us a little bit,” understated Northeast head coach Kevin Grooms. “We couldn’t shake it once he went down.
          “We just couldn’t gain momentum back. Darius is our main player.”
          Therrell outscored Northeast 6-0 to finish the third after Dunn went down, the Raiders and Panthers exchanging empty trips for almost the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, which opened with Therrell up 40-38 thanks to a putback at the buzzer.

          “We’ve been in that predicament before, where we’ve been down and we fought and we came back,” Grooms said. “Like I told them, continue to fight. At some point in time, the game is going to continue to turn. I think we did fight, we just didn’t hit enough shots, and they hit some big shots.”
          Robbie Armbrester’s putback broke the dry spell, and the Raiders got two free throws from Camrone Cherry after being unable to convert an offensive rebound. Then, yet again, the Raiders’ zone left Zyquan Morton alone, and yet again, he buried a long 3-pointer.
          Two Northeast turnovers and a free throw later, Morton was on target from deep and the lead was 48-41, the Panthers proceeding to get points on the next four possessions to go up 55-43 with 2:32 left.
          “We were trying to tell our men to stay on (Morton),” Grooms said. “But what happened was we kept getting sucked in. When they were driving in, (we) were getting sucked in. Instead of staying with (their) man, we got sucked in and it kinda messed us up a little bit.
          “He hit some tremendous shots. I mean, they were deep 3s.”
          And Therrell kept the pressure on by scoring and keeping the Raiders from getting hot.
          Dunn managed 23 points, including eight in the fourth quarter despite being hobbled and hydrating at breaks. Cherry added 15 and Ty’ree Gilbert 12, the trio teaming for 87.8 percent of the Raiders’ scoring.
          Morton finished with 20, 18 coming on 3-pointers. Armbrester added 15, and Ra’Sean Fredrick 18. And that trio accounted for 77.9 percent of the Panthers’ production.
          The season of homes away from homes ended on a city rival’s court, Northeast playing all games off campus as a new school – and gym – are constructed. Despite all that, the Raiders went far.
          “This group of guys, man, to not have a gym, to play your home games (away) and you have to travel to six seven gyms throughout the year, that shows tremendous effort,” Groom said. “That shows a lot about them.”
         
Class A Boys Public
No. 5 Wilkinson County 92, No. 4 Marion County 84
          The Warriors watched a 26-18 lead after one turn into a 46-42 halftime deficit. The defending Class A boys public champs regained the lead on the road, 68-64 after three, and held on down the stretch for their 16th straight win. The Warriors are the only Central Georgia team left.

No. 2 Treutlen 78, No. 7 Hancock Central 70
          It was tied at 42 at halftime, but the hosts were able to outlast the Bulldogs.