Sequoyah's Magical Season Comes to an End

The , the Class-AAAA Georgia High School Association’s top-ranked team, fell to second-ranked Miller Grove on Wednesday, 72-53, in a game usually slated as a championship battle. Instead, Miller Grove’s win places it just into quarterfinal action.

When everything works perfectly in a basketball tournament, the No. 1 seed and the No. 2 seed face off to prove superiority. It’s usually in the championship game, not the second round as it was on Wednesday at Sequoyah High School.

Because of a hiccup in the Region 6-AAAA championship game – a loss to Southwest Dekalb, Miller Grove was pushed out of its top spot and into the same bracket as Sequoyah. The inevitable matchup between Sequoyah and Miller Grove, Georgia’s two top-ranked AAAA teams and nationally-ranked programs, happened earlier than expected. And that was fine for Sequoyah head coach Jeremy Adams.

“We’re glad to get them at home,” said Adams before the game. “This gym will be all Sequoyah tonight.”

In fact, Adams’ prediction was correct; the War Lodge was bursting with Sequoyah pride and the volume was off-the-charts loud. That atmosphere helped the Chiefs jump out to 4-0 lead as Zack Chandler hit two jumpers in Sequoyah’s first three possessions to throw the crowd into a frenzy.

Miller Grove looked out of sync early, and the jazzed-up Sequoyah team was getting to every loose ball and disrupting every pass the Wolverines attempted. It took just under three minutes for Miller Grove to get on the scoreboard, but when it did, you could see the team was going to be tough to stop.

The Wolverines had a decided height advantage over Sequoyah. Miller Grove’s star Tony Parker was 6-foot-9, and the Wolverines had two other starters that were taller than Sequoyah’s tallest player.

“He was a tree,” said Sequoyah’s Cullen Roberts about Parker. “I just pushed and pushed, he was just so big and strong.”

Parker was also seemingly everywhere on the court, grabbing rebounds at will and blocking shots in bunches. He scored two of his game-high 20 points with 54 seconds left in the first quarter, a basket that gave Miller Grove its first lead, a lead the Wolverines would never relinquish.

The Wolverines two-point lead after the first quarter expanded almost immediately in the second when Miller Grove started taking the ball to and above the rim. Sequoyah just couldn’t keep up with the size advantage, and had trouble with the multiple mismatch options that Miller Grove presented. Sequoyah would frequently stop Miller Grove’s first attempt at scoring, but offensive rebounds kept the Wolverines alive often.

“We probably didn't do as good of a job as we could have getting into them and blocking out,” said Adams. “It just wears on you. When they are that big it just wears you down.”

Not only did Miller Grove’s size advantage give it many three and four-shot opportunities on offense, it forced Sequoyah into uncomfortable situations when the Chiefs had the ball.

Sequoyah shooters would frequently alter shots to avoid outstretched hands from Miller Grove defenders, and at times the Chiefs would pass up shots because so many were being blocked or tipped.

“I wish we had attacked a little more, said Adams, speaking about Sequoyah’s shot selection at times in the second half. “We kind of got panicked a little.”

Sequoyah may have been panicked at times on offense, but the team definitely wasn’t ready to give up. A late 10-2 run in the third quarter brought the team to within seven points of the Wolverines, after being down by 17 points at one point.

“We still fought and we didn't back down,” said Adams. “I knew coming in that this group wasn't going to back down. They embodied what Sequoyah basketball is all about. We're going to play hard every night, we're going to play smart and we're going to play together; through hustle, effort and desire.”

That desire was present, but in the end Miller Grove had too much size and speed, and the lead was too much for Sequoyah to recover from.

Adams spent almost 20 minutes with his team after the game before he emerged from the locker room to talk to reporters. “I just told them I loved them and I appreciate all they've done. I hope my son grows up to be the young men that they are.”

This Sequoyah team did things this season that had never been done before in the history of the school. The perfect regular season record of 25-0 was one such feat. As was a final 29-1 record that is second to none in school history. Adams knows that this group of kids – a group that has been together since seventh grade – set the bar high for future basketball teams.

“That will reflect on the juniors and sophomores,” said Adams. “The expectation now is to play for a regional championship every time. Hopefully we'll be there.”

Each player received a standing ovation as he left the locker room and came back out onto the basketball court where a few hundred friends and family members were congregated. The group wanted to stick around and reminisce about a wonderfully historic season. They laughed together and a large number of them cried, but for more than an hour, they all stayed.

Together.

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