Tucker coach James Hartry denied there was any revenge at the heart of Saturday’s second-round Class 5A playoff game against Jones County, but the scoreboard told a different tale.
Facing the same team that eliminated them a year earlier, the Tigers came out swinging and scored an early knockout, beat Jones County 72-40. No. 4-ranked Tucker will host Maynard Jackson, a 67-64 winner of Greater Atlanta Christian, on Wednesday in the quarterfinal round.
“I know they knocked us out last year, but we just want to advance,” Hartry said. “Every game we play is a revenge game. We’re just trying to get to the promised land.”
Maybe it wasn’t exactly a revenge game, but Tucker standout Josiah Lawson said last year’s elimination by Jones County had not been forgotten.
“We prepared very hard,” Lawson said. “It wasn’t personal, but it was business for us. It may have been a little something extra there.”
Tucker showed it meant business in the first quarter by racing to an 11-1 lead. Jakobe Williams and Jamar Graham each knocked down two 3-pointers in the opening quarter and the powerful 6-foot-9 Graham had 10 points in the period.
“We had a little more energy tonight than we normally do,” Hartry said. “And we had some good defensive stuff. We knew we had to because Jones County has one of the best coaches in the state in Buck Harris and we knew we had to be prepared to play against them. We didn’t know what he was going to do so we had to prepare.”
Tucker never let its foot off the gas pedal. The Tigers led 42-12 at the break and were never threatened.
“I thought we were playing pretty well, really,” Hartry said. “I just didn’t want us to lighten up and let up the last 30 minutes, because the game isn’t over until it’s over.”
Tucker (23-5) was led by Lawson with 16 points, Graham with 12 points and 12 rebounds, Khayri Dunn with 14, and Jakobe Williams with 12.
Jones County (19-10) got 12 points from Kaden Douglas and 11 from Jaden Stanley.
Hartry said defense remains the key for his team’s success.
“We like to pressure the man and it starts with my guards,” Hartry said. “You put pressure on the guards, go hard at the top, and it makes it hard for them to get to the wing.”
The Tigers have played well in the state tournament since being upset by Decatur in the Region 4 championship game. They beat Ware County 79-55 in the state tournament opener.
“We were on an 18-game winning streak and it kind of snapped us back into reality and let us know what we needed to work on,” Lawson said. “We needed that to carry into a deep state playoff run.”
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