The third meeting of Upson-Lee and Mary Persons was supposed to be closer ... supposed to be

By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com
 

Forsyth

          Really, it was supposed to be a game, and for longer than a half.

          Certainly the third time Upson-Lee and Mary Persons played, it would be a game, for longer than a half.

          And with an overflow crowd in place early at James P. Evans Jr. Gymnasium, it was.

          Barely.

          A 7-point game at halftime became a 15-point game late in the third quarter, in large part because of a scoring slump by the host Bulldogs, and Upson-Lee stormed away in the fourth quarter for a 78-56 win Friday night in the GHSA Region 2-4A tournament championship game.

          The Bulldogs doomed themselves early, missing their first two free throws and going 18 of 32 from the line, 10 for 16 in the first half, letting chances to stay close and put some pressure on Upson-Lee slip away.

          After all, it’s not like the Knights are used to any such pressure, although this was the smallest margin in the three meetings, better than the 30- and 31-point games.

          “We won some big games in the beginning,” U-L head coach Darrell Lockhart said. “That has helped give us confidence. Hopefully, they don’t get too complacent and we can keep moving forward.”

Next is a home game in the GHSA state tournament, all but considered the Upson-Lee Invitational in AAAA.

          Mary Persons tried to slow the game down and get the most out of patient possessions in the third quarter. But on two consecutive trips early, they missed seven shots. The Knights didn’t do anything with that slump for awhile, until Zyrice Scott’s nice driving bucket started a 7-0 run for a 53-38 lead.

          The only highlight of the 3-point quarter for the Bulldogs was Cam Holden’s stuff inside the final minute, the third ending with the Knights up  55-40.

          Scott, the steady junior point guard, keyed the Knights’ 58th straight win with 31 points, 12 coming on 3-pointers and going 5 for 6 at the line.

          Tye Fagan had 23 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists and Travon Walker 10 points, 14 rebounds and 4 blocks.

          Holden poured in 35 for the Bulldogs, and the loss hurt the senior, who Tweeted a few hours after the game, “I AM TIRED OF LETTING PEOPLE DOWN,” which was quickly countered by supporters and a media member.

Mary Persons' Cam Holden (15) prepares to leave the game.

          Holden, however, put in 35 - he recently passed 2,000 points for his career - despite not being nearly 100 percent, having suffered an ankle injury on Jan. 30, playing only a little more than a quarter in the 85-77 win.

          But the Bulldogs couldn’t get any offense going or anybody going on offense. Dee Morton was next with nine, but nothing in the middle quarters.

          Another night at the office for the Knights.

          “The attitude is great,” U-L head coach Darrell Lockhart said. “We kept thinking about the first game, when Cam didn’t play. The second game, we knew they could shoot the ball better than they shot it at our place.

          “We knew what kind of team this was gonna be.”

          And for a half, it was, for the Bulldogs, who were better than in the first two games, especially the one in Thomaston where the Knights had Mary Persons wobbly and on the ropes with a 25-4 second quarter.

          “There were times when we played lights out,” Lockhart said of the 89-58 win on Jan. 19. “Can we get that and sustain it?”

          From then to Friday, their margins of victory were 27, 26, 22, 39, and 18.

          “I don’t know,” he said. “During the course of the game, we always seem to get there at some time.”