Dalton ready for title tilt

Published 7:30 am Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Already with a first-round bye in next week’s Region 7-3A tournament secured, Dalton boys basketball coach Mike Duffie hopes his team comes out loose and relaxed tonight in its showdown with LaFayette for the Sub-region 7A title.

“It’s going to be fun,” Duffie said Monday night after his team enjoyed a post-practice meal together. “This is why you go to camp in the summer. This is why you run so many sprints and suicides in October. This is why you practice over Thanskgiving. This is fun time. I am excited for them.”

The two teams come into tonight’s scheduled 7:30 tipoff with identical sub-region records of 8-1 with Dalton losing to LaFayette 65-57 when the two teams met in LaFayette in January. The Ramblers’ loss in the sub-region came in a 56-53 defeat at the hands of Ridgeland on Jan. 17. Three days later, the Catamounts came to town.

In that first meeting, LaFayette bolted out to a 15-point lead in the first half, and Dalton could never recover.

The Ramblers maintained at least an eight-point lead throughout.

“They came out hot, and we came out cold,” Duffie said. “We just dug ourselves too big of a hole, and we couldn’t get over the hump to make a push at them.”

LaFayette’s key this season has been its defense. The Ramblers are holding opponents under 50 points per game on average this season in rolling to an 18-3 record. LaFayette’s only other losses this season have come to Tennesssee’s East Ridge and Class 2A’s Coosa in double overtime.

The Cats (17-6) will try to counter that with a home-court advantage that has been stout in the second half of the season. Dalton hasn’t lost at home since Jan. 3 when it lost to county rival Northwest Whitfield. Auburn-Montgomery signee Tristen Harrell leads the team in scoring, averaging more than 20 points per game.

Like Dalton, LaFayette doesn’t have much height with just one player — sophomore post Lance Estus — listed on the roster at 6-foot or better. Instead, with speed and quickness, the Ramblers have trapped opponents all year with their full-court press. Senior guard Devarus Porter — a standout at running back on the football team — leads the team in steals, and point guard Jordan Teems dishes in the halfcourt, averaging more than six assists per game.

“It is two very similar teams,” Duffie said. “It will be a lot about who hits their shots and those offensive boards. The biggest thing is to limit the turnovers and lead in offensive rebounds.”

In the loss to the Ramblers, Dalton allowed 19 offensive rebounds by LaFayette.

“We’ve got to stop that,” Duffie said. “Those are the easy scores. If we limit that, I like our chances.”

The Region 7-3A tournament begins on Monday at Murray County. No matter the outcome of tonight’s game, both Dalton and LaFayette will need just one win at region to gain a spot in the state tournament.