Gooden Sparks Chapel Hill in Win Over Paulding County

Eric Gooden doesn’t normally come off the bench for Chapel Hill, but after Saturday’s performance in the Panthers’ 63-51 win over Paulding County in the Region 5-AAAA tournament, head coach Lee Wilson might have to consider it as part of a new strategy.

Gooden led the Panthers with 19 points, despite playing just three quarters for disciplinary reasons.

“We teach principal over passion,” Wilson said. “He missed a shootaround, so he had to sit out the first quarter.”

Gooden was the catalyst in the pivotal third quarter in which Chapel Hill turned a 25-25 tie into a 46-37 lead. He scored 11 points in the quarter and drew a tip of the cap from his opposing coach.

“He was something of a surprise. He was not in our scouting report tonight, but he had a really good game,” said Paulding County head coach Anthony Cayetano. “He shot the ball well and we just could not stay in front of him.”

Paulding County entered the tournament as the No. 14 team in the 14-team region, but gave the fifth seeded Panthers all they could handle for the first half. Paulding County senior center Jonathan Lewis was a force inside as the Patriots jumped out to a 14-11 lead after the first quarter.

Lewis finished his final game at Paulding County with a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds. He’s one of six seniors whose careers came to a close Saturday.

“They all played a part in raising the expectations for our program,” Cayetano said. “It was tough for them to play their last game and not be able to get the results they wanted. I thought tonight they played a heck of a game.”

While East Paulding was effective early, Gooden came in and changed the tone of the game.

“He came in and provided a spark for us, and it’s a good thing because we needed it,” Lee said. “A lot of these guys haven’t been a situation where they have to win or they go home. I thought we came out with a case of the jitters. We were tentative offensively and Gooden came in, and he was the aggressor. He really sparked us offensively.”

Chapel Hill got 16 points and nine rebounds from Tevin Parker, and Jordan Jacks shot well from the free throw line and finished with 11 points.

Paulding County finishes the season with a record of 6-20, while Chapel Hill advances to play Sprayberry on Wednesday. The winner of that game will secure a spot in the state playoffs.