Class AAAA boys: Columbia 67, Fayette County 58
Fayette County built a 9-point fourth-quarter lead on 52-percent 3-point shooting. But when Columbia’s defense put the clamps down on the perimeter, the Tigers had no answer.
Class AAAA No. 1 Columbia held the Tigers to 0-for-6 on 3-point shooting and scored 27 fourth-quarter points to win 67-58 in the second round of the state playoffs.
When Chaz Berry made a free throw with 7 minutes left, he capped off a 24-7 run that gave Fayette County (21-8) a 49-40 lead and plenty of momentum heading into the stretch run on the Eagles’ home court.
The Tigers were shooting 53 percent from 3-point range and were fresh off a quarter in which they hit all five they attempted from beyond the arc.
For Columbia, something had to change. And it was going to have to start on the defensive end.
“We knew they were going to shoot any open three, no matter how deep they were,” said Columbia senior Nick Singleton, whose 21 points led all scorers. “So we just kind of anticipated that and, if they were going to the basket, we just figured they would miss it.”
It was a pretty good bet, as the Tigers made just 7 of 21 shots from 2-point range, and didn’t make a field goal for more than 6 minutes after Berry’s layup just seconds into the fourth quarter.
With the Eagles (25-5) not allowing the Fayette County shooters any space on the outside, the Tiger offense bogged down, and Columbia’s big men made it hard on any Fayette ball handler who made it into the lane.
That defensive intensity sparked the Eagles on a 21-6 run of their own, turning stifling defense on one end into easy baskets on the other. And when Bryce Brown came off the bench to hit a 3-pointer and long jumper on back-to-back possessions late in the fourth quarter, Columbia had finally regained the lead.
Contrasting Fayette County’s halfcourt style, Columbia only attempted three 3-pointers all night, and Brown’s was the only one the Eagles made. But they made up for a lack of long shots by sending a parade of shooters to the free-throw line, where they 20 of 25 shots, including 12 of 15 in the fourth quarter to hold off the Tigers.
“If we miss those free throws, we lose the game,” Columbia coach Kerry Sandler said. “They were fouling the last couple of minutes. If we miss more of those, it’s a different ball game, so that was big.”
