Dominant third quarter helps Luella end Northwest’s season

Published 10:45 pm Wednesday, February 23, 2022

TUNNEL HILL — Down by 14 at halftime, visiting Luella employed relentless full-court pressure defense and aggressive offensive rebounding to outscore the Northwest Whitfield High School boys basketball team 27-8 in the third quarter of Wednesday’s Class 4A playoff opener, then survived a trio of three-point attempts that could have tied the game in the final minute to defeat the homestanding Bruins, 64-61.

“We tried to sit (leading scorer) Payton Baker for a few minutes because he had three fouls, but in two minutes, everything unraveled,” said Ryan Richards, Northwest’s head coach. “By the time we got him back in, it was too little, too late.”

The Lions “got more aggressive (out of halftime), and we didn’t handle it well,” Richards added. “We made some mistakes against the press — we weren’t moving the ball to open people — but we did better attacking the press (in the fourth quarter), and these guys really wanted to keep playing (this season).”

Instead, the Bruins — who were seeded second and looking for their first playoff win since 2017 — conclude their season 23-5. The Lions, Region 5-4A’s third seed, play Westover tonight in Albany.

“We’ll look back with smiles and celebrate an excellent year, especially this group of seniors,” Richards said. Will Anderson, Baker, Collin Hall and Chandler Jackson “set a great example for the young guys, which is what you want, but (this loss) stings right now.”

Knocked down — but not out — by Luella’s 27-8 third-quarter blitz, the Bruins peeled themselves off the canvas and tied the game at 50 early in the fourth on Hall’s put-back. Hall tied the game again with a minute left after retrieving his own missed free throw and converting a field goal, but the Lions led 64-61 with 21 seconds remaining after a free throw by Nick Stewart, and Anderson was unable to convert either look at a three on Northwest’s final possession.

Baker led the Bruins in scoring with 25, while Jackson Harris also made it into double figures with 10 points, and Hall chipped in with nine points. The Lions were led by Nick Dickey’s 18 and Stewart’s 14.

The Lions scored first with Dickey’s three, but Stewart missed a dunk attempt, and Anderson got the Bruins on the board at the other end with a bucket for an early four-point swing. A stick-back by Hudson Gray gave the Bruins their first lead at 9-8, and Baker dazzled with his all-court game at the end of the opening quarter.

He rejected an inside shot attempt, then went coast-to-coast with alacrity for a deuce of his own. Then, with 2.7 seconds left in the quarter, Baker received an in-bounds pass, shot-faked with aplomb, let his defender fly by, and calmly canned a long two to give the Bruins a 17-11 advantage.

Baker’s tip-in gave the home side a double-digit lead at 28-18 halfway through the second quarter, and a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer by Harris made it 37-23 at halftime.

The third quarter was markedly different, however, as the Lions pounced with an 11-0 run before a Baker bucket temporarily stopped the bleeding for the home team. Dickey, however, put the Lions ahead, 42-40, with 4:21 left in the third quarter, and they led by five heading to the final quarter.