Injuries test Stratford bench heading into region tourney

For the past year or so, the saying around the Stratford boys basketball program is that it goes as Quintez Cephus goes.

The senior guard has lit up opposing defenses in his five years with the Eagles, with Cephus becoming the first Stratford player to top 2,000 career points. But for a couple of weeks in late January, Cephus wasn't going at all.

An ankle injury suffered Jan. 22 against FPD put Cephus in a walking boot. He missed three games, including a 69-67 overtime loss Jan. 26 at Tattnall Square.

Another starter, Nate Brooks, also has missed some time because of a hand injury. That forced head coach Jamie Dickey to juggle the team's rotation, testing Stratford's bench.

"They combine for 35 points and 18 rebounds a game," Stratford's O'Showen Williams said. "We were missing a lot. A lot of players had to step up."

Cephus is healthy heading into this week's GHSA Region 7-A tournament at Hancock Central, having returned Tuesday to score 22 points in a win over Mount de Sales. Stratford (16-5, 7-3 Region 7-A) is the No. 2 seed from the Region 7A-A, finishing two games behind Wilkinson County (20-5, 9-1) after losing twice to the Warriors by a combined five points.

Stratford went 2-1 in Cephus' absence, with Williams picking up the bulk of Cephus' production. Williams scored 31 points in the loss to Tattnall, 36 points in a 69-61 win at Twiggs County and 20 points in a non-region win over Paideia. Williams also led Stratford with 23 points in the win over the Cavaliers.

"I got to watch O'Showen and guys play," Cephus said. "O'Showen played three great games. It was good to see him at his best, to see what he was able to do."

Third-seeded Tattnall (16-7, 6-4) is the only team to beat Wilkinson County in region play, doing so with a 53-49 win to open region play Jan. 5 in Irwinton. FPD (14-9, 5-5) split the regular-season series with Tattnall and is the No. 4 seed.

Hancock Central (19-5, 11-1) is the top seed from Region 7B-A. Lincoln County (16-6, 9-3), Aquinas (11-7, 9-3) and GMC (12-9, 7-5) are the other teams from that sub-region.

Girls region tournament play begins Tuesday at Tattnall before moving to Hancock Central on Friday. Tattnall (22-1, 9-1), Stratford (20-3, 8-2) and FPD (14-11, 6-4) are the top three seeds from Region 7A-A, while Hancock Central (15-7, 10-0) and GMC (13-8, 8-2) are the top two seeds from Region 7B-A.

GHSA Region 7-A Tournaments

At Hancock Central

Boys

Wednesday

Game 1: Aquinas vs. Stratford, 4 p.m.

Game 2: Tattnall Square vs. Lincoln County, 5:30 p.m.

Game 3: GMC vs. Wilkinson County, 7 p.m.

Game 4: FPD vs. Hancock Central, 8:30 p.m.

Friday

Game 5: Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 5:30 p.m.

Game 6: Game 1 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 8:30 p.m.

Saturday

Third-place game, 5:30 p.m.

Championship, 8:30 p.m.

Girls

Tuesday

At Tattnall Square

Game 1: Aquinas vs. Stratford, 4 p.m.

Game 2: FPD vs. GMC, 5:30 p.m.

Game 3: Lincoln County vs. Tattnall Square, 7 p.m.

Game 4: Wilkinson County vs. Hancock Central, 8:30 p.m.

Friday

At Hancock Central

Game 5: Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 4 p.m.

Game 6: Game 1 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 7 p.m.

Saturday

At Hancock Central

Third-place game, 4 p.m.

Championship, 7 p.m.

This story was originally published February 7, 2016 at 8:56 PM with the headline "Injuries test Stratford bench heading into region tourney ."