Alpharetta Raiders Survive Threat In Region Tournament

By Mike Blum

The Alpharetta High School Raiders boys basketball team came into the Region 7-AAAAAA tournament as the No. 1 seed and only needed a win over eighth-seeded Centennial High School to earn a berth in the state tournament.

After one quarter, Centennial Knights appeared to be the team that claimed the tournament’s top seed, leading the Raiders 21-9 after eight minutes of play. Alpharetta rebounded to take a 31-29 halftime lead after a strong showing in the second quarter, but the Knights battled the Raiders on even terms in the second half.

The Knights had a chance to tie the game in the final 10 seconds but missed the attempt and the Raiders escaped with a 61-57 victory in the first of four quarterfinal games Feb. 8 at Johns Creek that determined the region’s four state tournament berths.

Host Johns Creek, the seventh seed, almost upset No. 2 Pope, sending the game into overtime with a last-second three-pointer before falling 63-58. Chattahoochee, the fourth seed, lost 59-48 to No. 5 Dunwoody, never recovering after a poor start.

Cambridge jumped out to a 22-9 lead after the first quarter and went on to score a 66-51 win over North Atlanta.

In Friday’s semifinals, Alpharetta will play Dunwoody at 5:30 p.m. and Cambridge plays Pope at 8:30 p.m. The finals and third place game are set for Saturday, with Friday’s winners earning home games in the first round of the state tournament.

The top three seeded girls teams won easily in quarterfinals Tuesday to advance to state, with No. 5 Pope scoring on a late 3-pointer to knock off No. 4 Johns Creek 55-54.

Pope plays No. 1 Northview in the semifinals Friday at 4 p.m., with Alpharetta playing Chattahoochee at 7 p.m. Chattahoochee, Alpharetta and Johns Creek tied for second in the region, with Chattahoochee seeded second, Alpharetta third and Johns Creek fourth.

Centennial had to win the 8/9 boys game Monday over Northview to get a shot at Alpharetta, which went 14-2 in region play with losses to both Centennial and Northview. The Raiders did not play well early in the afternoon opener against the Knights at either end, failing to defend Centennial shooter Jonathan Cannon, who drilled four 3-pointers and scored 14 points in the first quarter.

Led by talented senior Elis Merriweather and an aggressive defense that featured a strong effort by Jalen Young against Cannon, the Raiders (24-2) took a slim halftime lead with a 14-2 run in the latter stages of the second quarter.

Merriweather scored 11 of the Raiders’ 22 points in the quarter and keyed the Alpharetta offense with nine of the team’s 19 points in the final period.

Centennial regained the lead 43-42 after three quarters, but never led after Alpharetta’s Ryan Jenie hit a 3-pointer to put the Raiders on top 47-45. Brandon Barron, who scored seven of his 14 points in the opening quarter to account for almost all the Raiders’ early offense, connected on a floater in the lane and Carlos Carriere nailed a corner 3 to give Alpharetta its biggest lead at 53-47.

Merriweather took over from there with a pair of hard drives to the basket, and he and Barron both hit a pair of free throws in the final 30 seconds after the Knights had closed within two.

Carriere, who scored 10 points, was key for the Raiders in the third period, scoring three of the team’s five baskets and assisting on another. He hit one of his three 3-pointers in the period and gave the Raiders a 42-37 lead on a dunk, but some lax defensive play by Alpharetta assisted Centennial in taking the lead going to the fourth quarter.

Nigel Wilcox led Centennial (6-20) with 16 points, Dawit Cridland had three 3-pointers and 11 points and Rodney Howard added 10 points on the inside. Jaylen Jack was the only player other than Cannon to score for the Knights, who were shorthanded with only eight players dressed out, two of whom did not play.

Pope (22-4) was headed to a seemingly easy win in the second game when the Greyhounds broke open a close game in the third period, expanding a 24-20 halftime advantage into a lead that almost reached 20 points.

The Gladiators (9-17) connected on a flurry of 3's to close within 44-35 after three quarters, and took a 52-51 lead with just over two minutes to play when Alex Ruoff rebounded a missed free throw and scored on a jump hook.

But Johns Creek missed three of five three throws in the late going and Pope regained the lead before the Gladiators’ Jack Greenslit banked in a 3-pointer with about a second on the clock.

Johns Creek managed just two points in the overtime, with Nate Gauthreaux’s 15-footer putting the Gladiators ahead 58-57 with 40 seconds to play. Pope scored all its overtime points from the foul line, going 6-for- 6 in the final 30 seconds. Neil Ilenrey scored 14 points for the Gladiators with Raoff and Gauthreaux adding 13 each. Alex Watson scored 33 points for the Greyhounds.

Cambridge (19-7) led by 13 points after the opening period against North Atlanta, and the Bears were never seriously threatened after that, winning 66-51.

Led by Jackson Boyea and Kamar Robertson, who scored 20 and 16 points respectively, the Bears hit nine 3-pointers, and also got strong inside play from Kyler Ingram (9 points) and David Banks (7), who powered the Cambridge rebounding effort.

Northview (23-3) rolled in the girls opener, expanding its lead in each period to win 76-43 over Dunwoody. The Lady Titans’ got 51 points from their three leading scorers – Ashlee Austin (20), Maya Richards (17) and Shannon Titus (14).

Siena Gore hit her season average of 21 points as Chattahoochee (20-5) defeated Centennial 51-37. The Lady Cougars held Centennial to three points in the second period to take a 29-13 halftime lead. Shekinah Guthrie scored 14 for Centennial (11-15).

Alpharetta (17-9) led 15-6 after one quarter and allowed just three points in the third period to take an 18-point lead and went on to defeat Cambridge 53-35. Kendall Philips led the Lady Raiders with 15 points. Cambridge finishes 11-15.

The Johns Creek girls had a shot at their first ever state playoff berth, but got a tough draw, with Pope finishing the regular season 16-9. The Lady Gladiators enjoyed their best season in the school’s history, going 12-4 in region play and finishing 18-8 overall.

Image via Patch