Sweep at Lowndes secures 1-7A 2 seeds for Packer teams

Published 11:49 pm Friday, January 31, 2020

VALDOSTA – There were two quite emotional high school basketball coaches when the final buzzers sounded Friday in the Crimson Coliseum. This was Colquitt County vs. Lowndes in the last regular-season Region 1-7A games of 2019-20, and there was plenty at stake for this upcoming week’s postseason tournament that will conclude in Moultrie.

The Packers did need some help in the Tift-at-Camden doubleheader also taking place Friday, but didn’t get it. The victories over the Lowndes Vikings, however, ensured that Colquitt County would be in second place for both the boys and girls standings. So Thursday on William Bryant Court they will play the winner of Tuesday’s third vs. fourth seed games for a chance to both reach the 1-7A finals and secure at least one home game in the GHSA 7A tournament.

The Lady Packers of coach Rondesha Williams – the defending tournament champions in 1-7A – defeated Lowndes 54-50 for a regular-season sweep (Lowndes’ girls face Camden County Tuesday). The game featured an all-net half-court buzzer-beater (no monitors to check in high school games) by Lowndes’ Faith Johnson and a fairly strange statistical anomaly: Colquitt County did not score a field goal in the third quarter; Lowndes did not score a field goal in the fourth quarter.

Special thanks go out to point guard Camille Singletary and her 100 percent foul shooting in the clutch and whoever caused the three takeaways that got the Lady Packers the ball back in order to return to the free-throw line.

“We were up, but then we put ourselves in a hole,” said Williams. “We got dejected. I told them you still have another whole quarter to go. You put yourself in this hole, now you dig yourself out. They went out and did exactly what I asked them to do. We can do a lot of things, but we can’t come out unfocused.”

There were numerous lead changes between the rivals, especially in the first half. When the Lady Packers got down by four, senior Janiah Ellis penetrated three possessions in a row, scoring four points. The fourth possession ended with Ellis’ straight-up 3-pointer and 11-10 Colquitt lead.

Sometimes those penetrations led to turnovers, and Johnson of Lowndes was one to capitalize. Her jumper at 1:15 on the quarter clock put the Vikettes back up by three. Colquitt freshman Carliss Johnson snapped the mini-run yanking away a defensive rebound and scoring. She also tried to steal an offensive rebound, but ended up on the line and tied the score 14-14.

Lowndes had eight team fouls in the quarter, including two player control calls. But it ended with the home team ahead 19-14 as Faith Johnson excited her fans with the half-court heave.

If that took some of Lowndes’ focus away from second-quarter business, all the better for the Lady Packers. With Ellis’ nifty behind-the-back assist to Singletary, Colquitt went on a 9-0 run. Keyana Harper was back in uniform for Williams, and the forward came off the bench to cash in Singletary’s penetration assist and set the screen for Ellis to find C. Johnson for 3. Three minutes into the quarter, the LPs led 23-19.

There were a lot of one-and-done Lowndes possessions with Ellis clearing the boards. But as Harper was getting into the flow, she hit the floor hard and left the game not to return. Ellis found C. Johnson for another 3, and that was Colquitt’s margin (28-25) as the half was nearing.

With all the Lowndes foul trouble, the Lady Packers didn’t reach the double bonus until 1:08. Turnovers were a Colquitt problem in the final minutes, and F. Johnson’s penetration brought her side within two. Gracie Belle Paulk’s put-back at the 14-second mark put the score 31-27 at the break.

Lowndes, for the third quarter, exhibited excellent teamwork and execution, and with Ta’je Middleton scoring five quick points the Vikettes surged back in front 34-33. There was a run of nine straight for the Vikettes with second-chance scoring and give-and-go action completed by F. Johnson.

Colquitt’s issue wasn’t not making shots, but not taking shots period. Myah Espanol and Kiersten Graham were others from Lowndes doing offensive damage, and with two more executed sets it was 44-35 with one quarter to play.

But nothing would fall in the same goal in the fourth quarter with Ellis and Paulk grabbing the rebounds. Getting out of the hole began with eight straight for Colquitt. At 1:34 to play Lowndes scored for the first time at the line. The foul shooting was going pretty good for both sides, and then Ellis tied the game 48-48 with 34 seconds to go.

That’s when the Lady Packers started getting the quick turnovers from Audreyanna Rowland and C. Johnson. Singletary made six FTs in a row for 52-48 Colquitt vs. the two chances Lowndes received in the final 14 seconds.

Though the girls finished tied in record with Tift County at 5-1, No. 1 went to the Lady Blue Devils due to winning with a greater point differential in the split head-to-head meetings. Williams is not concerned about a potential rematch with Lowndes to get to the region finals.

“I don’t care who it is,” she said. “My Lady Packers are going to show up ready to play (Thursday). We are going to step on that floor ready to play basketball.”

PACK BOYS WIN 64-58

Camden County took care of its business Friday to claim the No. 1 1-7A boys seed outright at 5-1. What got to coach Tremaine Facison after Colquitt’s 64-58 win over the Vikings on the same night was how much being second place at 4-2 was a far cry from last year’s results.

“This region is up for grabs,” said Facison. “Anybody could be Player of the Year. Anybody could be the region champs. The thing I’m so thankful for is a team like us that won absolutely no games last year, we are sitting at the No. 2 seed. Could have been No. 1. But going to the playoffs, I can’t be happier. They gave it everything they had.”

And so Thursday Colquitt’s boys play either Lowndes again looking to go 3-0 vs. the Vikings or Tift County, which split two games with the Packers.

It took not one, not two but three Packer seniors to take control of the game Friday and overcome Lowndes’ early leads and home-crowd advantage. They were Montavious Ponder, Elijah Scott and Tyler Walker.

“Me and (Ponder), we bump heads a lot because he’s strong-minded and I’m bull-headed,” said Facison. “All of us bump heads, but we are going for the same common goal. We want to do something no team in Colquitt County has ever done.”

The Packers started the game strong with a 10-3 run, Ponder putting in a second-chance jumper and Di Williams nailing 3. The teams traded three-point plays, but it was Lowndes having the stronger finish with Packer turnovers leading to transition buckets. Getting the last eight in a row, the Vikings were up 16-15 after the first.

With a new quarter, it was another good beginning for the visiting squad starting with Williams and his 3-ball at 6:46. Back-up Dijmon Wheeler grabbed a loose basketball, dribbled to his offensive end and found Walker trailing. His 3-pointer put the score at 21-16 Pack. Walker had other scoring success going to the rim in the first half.

But much like the first, the Vikings enjoyed a momentum switch scoring two 3-pointers off takeaways. Throw in some second-chance success, and Lowndes found itself back in front 29-24.

With 1:16 left, Ponder, who did not score in last week’s loss at Tift County, connected from 3. Lowndes responded with four straight, then Walker stuck a jumper at the 11.6-second mark. There was some buzzer-beating by Lowndes in the boys game as Tony Wiseman – not from half court – hit his 3 attempt.

The Packers found themselves trailing 36-29 at the break. A major turning point in favor of the Packers was a basket-interference call on the Vikings taking points off their side. The home team struggled to get anything to fall for several minutes, and the Packer seniors seized control with patience and good shot selection from the aforementioned trio. Williams also got into the act with the 3 that put the Packers up 42-41.

Ponder went inside for 2 and Scott stuck the baseline jumper. Those four points meant a four-point edge, 48-44, going into the fourth.

Wiseman opened the last period with 3, but Walker got those back on a third-chance offensive rebound. With that trio combining for the next eight Colquitt points, the advantage stretched out to its biggest, 59-49.