Wilkinson County edges Stratford to complete sweep
IRWINTON -- A little size in the middle, some made free throws at important times and some foul trouble by the opposition's top player gave Wilkinson County just enough of an edge Tuesday night against Stratford.
Although Stratford rallied from a nine-point deficit and claimed the lead for a brief time in the fourth quarter, Wilkinson County did enough down the stretch to beat Stratford 56-54 at the Palace to claim a regular-season sweep and break a tie for first place with the Eagles in GHSA Region 7A-A.
Wilkinson County made 10-of-11 free throws in the fourth quarter, including 5-of-6 in the final minute. Larry Jones' basket with 53 seconds to go gave the Warriors the lead for good.
Stratford's Quintez Cephus, who was visited by Miami football head coach Mark Richt earlier in the day and had football assistants from Miami and Wisconsin watching him at the game Tuesday, finished with a game-high 22 points. But he picked up his third foul 1:17 into the third quarter, costing him several minutes of playing time, and then he committed his fourth foul with 4:39 to go in the game and fouled out with 16 seconds left.
Jadaveon Jones led Wilkinson County (13-5, 5-1 Region 7A-A) with 16 points, including a 6-for-6 effort from the line in the final quarter.
THREE WHO MATTERED
Jadaveon Jones: In addition to his big fourth quarter from the line, he made a crucial 3-pointer with 50 seconds to go in the first half, one that helped put Wilkinson County up 24-20 at the break.
Greg Couson: His 15 points and 12 rebounds were part of an effort Wilkinson County made to dominate the post.
Cephus: Despite battling foul trouble, Cephus had some big moments. He popped 3-pointers 11 seconds apart a couple of minutes into the fourth quarter, cutting a nine-point lead Wilkinson County had at the time to three.
Nate Brooks: He turned up his offensive production when Cephus was on the bench with second-half foul trouble. Brooks had 15 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks, with all but two of his points coming in the second half.
TURNING POINT
Jadaveon Jones made two free throws with 31 seconds remaining, connecting after an empty Stratford possession, to put Wilkinson County up three. That forced Stratford (12-4, 4-2) to start fouling, with Cephus fouling out to take the playmaker out of the mix for the Eagles' final two possessions.
OBSERVATIONS
Big on the boards: Wilkinson County outrebounded Stratford 46-31.
Unkind at the line: While Wilkinson County thrived from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, Stratford struggled all night. The Eagles hit 18-of-30 (60 percent) free-throw attempts compared to Wilkinson County's 13-of-16 (81 percent) effort.
Final play frenzy: Larry Jones' missed free throw with five seconds remaining gave Stratford an opening to tie or win the game. But with Wilkinson County defenders getting up tight on the other end, the Eagles were unable to get a shot off before the buzzer.
WORTH MENTIONING
Power ratings: Wilkinson County entered Tuesday's game in third place in the GHSA Class A public school power ratings, while Stratford was sitting in eighth place in the Class A private school power ratings. The ratings are published on Tuesday mornings and help determine the playoff brackets in that classification.
ALSO TUESDAY NIGHT
Stratford breezed to a 71-40 win in the girls game. Ashlee Francis had 19 points for Stratford (16-2, 5-1) with Evans McCook adding 18. Ja'Tosjah Bolston had 18 for Wilkinson County (4-13, 3-3).
THEY SAID IT
Jadaveon Jones on Wilkinson County's fourth-quarter play: "We started making some big-time free throws, stayed focused and played some great defensive positions."
Wilkinson County head coach Aaron Geter on fourth-quarter free-throw shooting: "Jadaveon Jones did well down the stretch shooting the basketball from the free-throw line. If you're going to win the big game, of course you've got to hit those in crucial situations."
Geter on matching up with Stratford: "The biggest thing was, we played against a Stratford team that has kids like (O'Showen) Williams and Cephus. You just have to hang in there and hopefully pull that out at the end."
Stratford head coach Jamie Dickey on what cost the Eagles on Tuesday: "It felt like QT was in foul trouble all night. I felt like we still played hard, we still battled hard, but I feel like we didn't play well again. A lot of that is because Wilkinson County is a good basketball team, but we got killed on the board and we missed 12 free throws, and we lose by two on the road."
WHAT'S NEXT?
Both teams play Friday. Wilkinson County travels to Tattnall Square in an attempt to avenge its only loss in sub-region play, while Stratford heads to rival FPD.
This story was originally published January 19, 2016 at 11:39 PM with the headline "Wilkinson County edges Stratford to complete sweep ."