Late Run Ends Paideia's Region Title Bid

With the momentum in hand, the boys basketball team had an opportunity to avenge its only region loss of the season against Whitefield Academy -- in the Region 9-A championship, nonetheless.

But it wasn’t meant to be Saturday night at Whitefield Academy, as the Wolfpack used an 11-1 run in the final 1:35 to capture the region crown, 55-45. The game was much closer than the final score indicated as the two teams were deadlocked at 44-44 with under two minutes remaining.

Leading the Paideia surge in the second half was sophomore guard Cameron Myers, who finished the game with 10 points. Whitefield Academy (25-3, 8-0) held a 24-18 lead at halftime and increased it to 26-19 with just over five minutes to play in the third quarter. But Myers scored six of the Pythons’ next nine points which helped tie the game at 28-28.

“Cameron plays way above his age,” Paideia coach JoJo Cadray said. “He’s a sophomore but he plays like a senior. He’s a great player for a coach to have and we hope and expect him to play that way for the rest of his career.”

Junior guard Keenan Palmore led Paideia scorers with 17. His 3-pointer with 1:46 remaining in the fourth quarter tied the game, sending the Paideia faithful who made the trip in a frenzy. But that’s when Whitefield Academy’s Kenneth Gaines, Kennard Backman and Tekele Cotton took over, scoring the next eight points. After Paideia’s Ray Griffin hit one-of-two free throws, Cotton slammed a dunk home to cap off the game-ending run.

“In the past we’ve had bad games against [Paideia],” Cotton said. “Just to put it all out there like they made us do, it feels good.”

Paideia center Sidki Muwallif scored four points in the first quarter, but was held scoreless over the course of the next three. He spent considerable time on the bench in the second half due to foul trouble.

“We were at a slight disadvantage during that run,” Cadray said. “They pretty much had their way with us on the offensive end. We need to be more efficient scoring down the stretch, especially if we’re handicapped without our big man inside.”

This is the second time Paideia (21-6, 8-1) has lost to Whitefield this season, the first being a 44-35 loss on Feb. 11. In that contest, Palmore dealt with foul issues of his own, sitting for most of the second half.

“In each game we’ve been in foul trouble,” Cadray said. “It would be nice to have another opportunity at them, see if we can stay out of foul trouble and play a solid game.”

The only opportunity the Pythons have at another rematch with Whitefield Academy would be in the state championship game. The Wolfpack are on the opposite side of the bracket and open with the winner of Warren County and Wesleyan, which meet in the preliminary round.

Following the game, Palmore and Muwallif were named to the Region 9-A All-Region team, as was Whitefield Academy’s power trio -- Backman, Gaines and Cotton. Cotton was named the region’s player of the year.

Paideia will play Mt. Paran, which finished second to North Cobb Christian in the Region 6-A Tournament, in the first round of the state playoffs. Both teams will meet Monday and flip a coin to decide which team receives home court advantage.