The Undefeated: Upson-Lee caps perfect season with championship triumph
Upson-Lee saved the biggest moment of the night for the one who couldn’t play.
Kentrez Taylor, who finished the season on crutches after getting hurt in the final game of the regular season, was at the heart of an emotional team embrace soon after his teammates got off the floor following an initial dog pile. He then was given the task so many players dream of but only a few get to do: receiving the cup the GHSA presents to a championship team.
Thousands of Upson-Lee fans cheered him on. After all, he was holding the symbol of something the Knights had been working more than 12 months to achieve: perfection.
Playing in front of a sold-out crowd of 8,600 at McCamish Pavilion on Friday, Upson-Lee set aside the memory of its early 2016 exit that drove everything the team did this season. A 53-48 victory over St. Pius X capped a 32-0 run that the Thomaston and Upson County community rallied behind from the start.
The chant of “U ... L!!!” was prevalent all night, from warm-ups through and well past the ceremony honoring the GHSA Class 4A championship team. The arena was loud all game long, with Upson-Lee fans matched by a St. Pius X student body that took up the entire section behind one basket, as well as parts of two other sections.
For those on the Upson-Lee side, it was a game that will be remembered for a lifetime.
“We’re all like brothers,” co-captain Tavias Fagan said. “We’re not just teammates or friends. We’re like brothers. We love each other.”
Three who mattered
Fagan: The junior led Upson-Lee with 20 points, going 8-of-18 from the field, while playing all 32 minutes.
Travon Walker: A sophomore, Walker had 16 of Upson-Lee’s 37 rebounds, including 12 on the defensive end. He also scored nine points in 25 minutes of action.
Everett Lane: After scoring just six points in the first half, the St. Pius X junior caught fire, finishing with 29 points and seven 3-pointers.
Turning point
Walker’s block of a Matthew Gonzalo jumper with 18 seconds to go kept St. Pius X from cutting Upson-Lee’s lead back down to one possession. Walker pulled down the rebound, and his two free throws with 13 seconds to go gave the Knights a 52-45 lead.
Observations
Shooting sets the tone: Upson-Lee made 11-of-23 field goal attempts (45.8 percent) in the first half, while St. Pius X made just 4-of-22 (18.2 percent). The result was a 27-14 lead for the Knights at halftime.
Making it a game: Walker picked his third foul a little more than a minute into the third quarter, forcing him to the bench. St. Pius X got hot at that point, going 3-of-6 from 3-point range in the third quarter after making only 2-of-10 in the first half. Lane made all three of those 3-pointers, part of a 15-8 quarter that cut Upson-Lee’s lead to six heading into the fourth.
Finishing the job: Upson-Lee made 8-of-10 free throws in the fourth quarter and went 5-of-8 from the field to seal the victory.
Worth noting
Official sellout: By the end of the preceding game, Columbus’ 69-67 overtime victory over Carver-Columbus, McCamish Pavilion was to the point of capacity with walk-up ticket purchasers being turned away.
Also Friday: In Class 1A private school competition, Wesleyan defeated Holy Innocents 51-48 for the girls title and Greenforest Christian beat Southwest Atlanta Christian 81-57 for the boys title.
They said it
Upson-Lee head coach Darrell Lockhart on the win that gave the Knights their first GHSA basketball title: “I’m numb right now. I’m pretty sure I’ll have a better choice of words in the morning.”
Lockhart on St. Pius X’s comeback: “We had to take the big guy out because of foul trouble. They were smart, and they took advantage of it. They hit some shots, and they had it going. We were able to slow them down enough so we wouldn’t run out of gas, get our big guy back in and get some stops and hit free throws.”
Fagan on locking things down in the fourth quarter: “We started out in the first half communicating on defense, we were all talking. Then our big man, Travon Walker, got in foul trouble. He’s a big part of our defense, a big part of our communication, taking away shots, pulling down rebounds. (Lane) got hot, he’s a good shooter, and his team was setting him up. But in the fourth quarter, when Tra came back, we started talking, getting rebounds, and the defense started communicating.”
Fagan on quashing memories of last season’s early exit: “That was motivation going into this year. They reminded us constantly of the first round. We took it as motivation, got better each day, and our dream came true of winning our first state title.”
This story was originally published March 10, 2017 at 11:12 PM with the headline "The Undefeated: Upson-Lee caps perfect season with championship triumph."