COLUMBUS -- In a game that featured two of UGA’s top athletes of the future -- Greenville’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Wilcox County’s Nick Marshall -- it was a Georgia Southern signee who showed that he was the best athlete in the building.
Greenville point guard Mario Alford’s driving layup with 20 seconds left in regulation tied the score at 75. Then on Greenville’s next possession, Alford zipped from midcourt to the front of the rim in less than two seconds. Once there, he spun a no-look pass to fellow senior Willie Bailey, who converted an easy layup to give Greenville a thrilling 77-75 win in one Class A quarterfinal on Friday night on the campus of Columbus State College.
Alford won the Class A state 100-meter title last spring in a time of 10.77 seconds. And last fall, he quarterbacked the Greenville football team to an overall record of 8-3 and a state playoff appearance. He’ll suit up at quarterback at Georgia Southern this fall.
Caldwell-Pope, who will play basketball at Georgia, was spectacular in leading all scorers with 40 points. He also grabbed eight rebounds and played most of the fourth quarter with a cut on his lip that bled so much he was forced go directly to the hospital after the game to get six stitches.
Marshall, who was hounded by several Greenville defenders all night, scored 16 points, showing flashes of the strength and athleticism that will be on display in the Georgia secondary in the fall.
But it was Alford who made the plays of the night. Greenville coach Richard Carter was hardly surprised.
“He’s the man,” a jubilant Carter said afterward. “When we need it, that’s our number-one play: Our point guard goes to the basket. We know he can take anyone anytime he feels like it. I can’t say enough about him.”
Alford, who predicts he will run the 100 meters in 10.50 this spring, said it was Greenville’s senior experience and never-say-die attitude that was the difference. Greenville trailed by nine, 74-65, with just over three minutes left in regulation, after a layup by Wilcox County sophomore Johnathan Howard, who led his team with 26 points.
“We just never quit,” Alford said. “We’ve been saying that to each other all season. Don’t give up until the buzzer goes off, and that’s what we did.”
After Howard’s bucket, Caldwell-Pope drilled a deep 3-pointer -- one of six he made in the game -- that was a catalyst in Greenville’s 10-1 run that knotted the score at 75 after Alford’s drive and layup. On the ensuing possession by Wilcox County -- which went 1-for-6 from the free-throw line in the last two minutes of the game -- Caldwell-Pope made a steal and quickly called timeout, to set up Greenville’s final possession.
“We told [Caldwell-Pope], this isn’t Kentavious vs. Wilcox County or Kentavious vs. Nick Marshall,” Carter said. “This is Greenville vs. Wilcox County. All [Caldwell-Pope] had to do was settle down, play his game and let his teammates get involved. That’s what he did, and at the end, our point guard made a play.”
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