Milton Falls 61-58 In State Basketball Opener

By Mike Blum

Brookwood made repeated attempts in the final two minutes of Saturday night’s first round state playoff game at Milton to hand the game to the Eagles, but Milton could not accept the Broncos’ generosity.

The Broncos went 2-for-8 from the free throw in the last 1:36 – their only points in the last two minutes. But the Eagles missed repeated attempts to tie the game or take the lead during that stretch, failing to score a field goal over the last three minutes of an exciting contest that wasn’t decided until the final buzzer.

Brookwood, the No. 4 seed from Region 7-AAAAAAA, escaped with a 61-58 victory over 5-AAAAAAA champion Milton, the Broncos’ first appearance at state since 2011 and their first victory in state tournament play since 2004.

Milton went to the semifinals last year, but returned only one front line player from that team, and the Eagles struggled offensively in the final 90 seconds after senior Alex O’Connell fouled out. After leading 11-10 at the end of the first quarter, the Eagles never led again, tying the game three times in the fourth quarter after beginning the final period trailing 51-44.

Brookwood took a 7-point margin to the final period when Trae Higginbotham hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from beyond half court. Milton sophomore Jordan Yates, the football team’s starting quarterback, pulled Milton even at 51-51 when he scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter, including a game-tying 3-pointer with 5:40 to play. Yates, who shot the ball effectively from outside after coming off the bench, finished with 11 points.

The Eagles went more than two minutes without a score, tying the game for a second time in the final period on a 3-pointer by junior Ulyric Linton with 3:17 on the clock. Linton carried the team’s offense for much of the second half, scoring 17 of his team-high 18 points in the final two periods. A pair of free throws by Linton with 2:48 remaining gave Milton its final tie at 56-56, with the team’s only points after that coming from reserve J.P. McGhee, who hit both foul shots with 1:19 left to pull the Eagles within 60-58.

Brookwood had the chance to put the game away at the foul line, but went 3-for-12 in the fourth quarter, including 1-of-6 in the final 47 seconds.

The Eagles had repeated chances to tie the game or take the lead in the late going, but could not make any of the attempts. Freshman point guard Christian Wright, a first-team all-region selection who sat out much of the second half with foul trouble, was unable to score on three contested drives to the basket and Linton missed a 3-pointer. The Eagles were unable to get off an uncontested 3 after the Broncos hit one of two free throws with 6.2 seconds on the clock to take a 61-58 lead.

O’Connell, who will play in college at Duke, scored 14 points in his final game in a Milton uniform, but did not score after hitting a pair of 3-pointers early in the third period to trim a 7-point Brookwood lead to one. Linton scored 12 of Milton’s 21 points in the third quarter, the only one in which the Eagles scored more than 14 points.

Brookwood’s 3-2 zone defense took away the driving lanes for Milton’s group of penetrating guards, with Wright limited to three points after scoring 25 in the region championship victory over Lambert. The Broncos also kept O’Connell in check other than his brief burst early in the second half. Three of O’Connell’s four field goals came on 3-pointers, the other on a dunk off a lob pass from sophomore guard Donoven Hairston, the fourth Milton player in double figures with 10 points.

The Broncos rely on three seniors for almost all their points, and guards Higginbotham (14), Donald Parham (20) and wing Markus Smith (13) combined for 47 points against the Eagles, just under their regular season average.

A difference in the game was the play of the Broncos’ mostly non-scoring group of inside players, who controlled the game under the basket at both ends, keeping the Eagles off their offensive boards and denying Milton scoring attempts from close range.

O’Connell’s dunk and a rebound basket by Linton were Milton’s only inside scores other than fast breaks or drives to the basket, compared to eight such scores for the Broncos. Brookwood (15-13) travels to Hillgrove in Cobb County for a second round game Feb. 23. The Eagles finish the season at 14-14 and would have been at home in the second round had they gotten past the Broncos.

Image via Patch