Columbia boys win title
MACON — After accepting the state championship trophy, the Columbia boys ran to the stands to celebrate with the school’s girls team.
With Columbia’s 54-46 win over LaGrange in the boys finals, the DeKalb County school swept the Class AAA basketball championships Saturday night. In the previous game at the Macon Centreplex, the Columbia girls defeated Carver-Atlanta.
“You got some history here tonight,” Columbia boys coach Phil McCrary said. “You’ve got one program to win back-to-back titles with the boys and girls at the same school. No other school in DeKalb County has ever done that. We’re the first, and we’ll let everybody else follow.”
The coach was less than enthusiastic about his team’s effort, which was not one of its best. However, it was good enough to capture the program’s third state championship in six years. The Columbia boys won Class AAAA titles in 2006 and 2008.
“We were just fortunate,” McCrary said. “We didn’t play our best. [LaGrange] did some things that forced us to do some things that we’re not accustomed to doing.”
Columbia (28-5) essentially won the game with an 11-0 run to open the second half. LaGrange (31-1) rallied to pull within 49-47 with 1:26 left in regulation, but it was too little too late.
“It was a good ballgame.” LaGrange coach Mike Pauley said. “They [Columbia] controlled the ball in the second half, and that was the difference. They are a very good defensive team, and so are we. The score indicated that.”
Columbia’s JerShon Cobb scored a game-high 20 points, while LaGrange was led by Dionte Mains with 11. LaGrange couldn’t help but think about missed opportunities.
“It was a nice run by us in the fourth quarter, but we should’ve hit it earlier,” Pauley said. “Hats off to [Columbia] for controlling the ball because any slip ups, and we would’ve taken the game.
“Our guys were poised to take it. It was laid out in front of is. We just couldn’t make a basket.”