Wilkinson County takes out Crawford County
It is well known that Wilkinson County knows how to turn things up a notch when it gets to playoff time.
That was once again evident Thursday night as the Warriors manhandled Crawford County and advanced to the GHSA 1A public school quarterfinals with a 76-45 win.
Crawford County was held to six first-half field goals but only trailed 31-16 at the half. Wilkinson County then turned it up even more in the third quarter, outscoring Crawford County 15-4 in the first four minutes to put the game away.
Four who mattered
Clarence Jackson: The junior post player was a big reason why Wilkinson County was able to outrebound Crawford County by a 30-14 margin in the first half. He had 11 rebounds in the half and ended with 15 for the game to go with 17 hard-earned points.
Jadaveon Jones: The senior guard ended the game with 16 points and scored eight straight in the third quarter as Wilkinson County built its lead to 31 by the end of the quarter.
Larry Jones: The senior guard had three points in the first half but hit two 3-pointers early in the third quarter to get Wilkinson County going. He ended the game with 12 points.
Damien Saffold: The Crawford County guard struggled early but finished strong as he ended up with 14 points.
Turning point
Wilkinson County managed a 15 point halftime lead despite hitting only 11-of-39 shots in the first half. Keron Bluford hit a 3-pointer for Crawford County to trim the Warriors’ lead to 31-19 early in the third quarter, prompting Wilkinson County head coach Aaron Geter II to call a quick timeout. After that, the Warriors outscored Crawford County 24-8 for the rest of the quarter.
Observation
Intensity and rebounding win basketball games: The intensity that Wilkinson County was displayed in one segment in the second quarter. Jackson went up hard in the paint and missed, but rebounded his miss four straight times before converting the basket. For the game Wilkinson outrebounded Crawford 49-26.
They said it
Geter on his team’s defensive effort: “That only way this team can survive is to give a yeoman’s effort on the defensive side of the basketball. This team has played in a lot of championship games, and the effort we gave (Thursday) was what we were looking for.”
Geter on the quick timeout in the third quarter: “We know that the first three minutes of the third quarter is a vital time of a basketball game, and we did not get off to a good start giving up a wide open 3. We responded well to the timeout, and we were able to get the intensity back where it needed to be.”
Jackson on the team’s effort and finally getting his shot to drop after missing four straight on the one possession: “We knew that Crawford County was a good basketball team, and we wanted to set the tempo early. I felt like I just had to keep working hard for my team, and thankfully I finally got the shot to drop. I just tried to keep working hard.”
What’s next?
Wilkinson County faces Taylor County in the quarterfinals.
This story was originally published February 24, 2017 at 12:01 AM with the headline "Wilkinson County takes out Crawford County."