Mays’ boys hadn’t made the basketball quarterfinals in five years, and they weren't in a hurry Wednesday night against Chamblee.
Mays trailed 10-2 in four minutes, and star guard Aloys Cabell, a four-year starter who averages 24.4 points per game, was held scoreless until the final two minutes of the first half.
But Cabell finished with 17, Colin Cook blocked 8 shots and Mays won 53-36 at home in the second round of the Class AAAA playoffs.
“It’s been awhile [since making the state quarters],’’ said coach Floyd Mack, whose Mays teams won state titles in 2004 and 2005. “It feels good to be back. I'm pleased, especially for Aloys. He’s been here four years, and he hasn’t always had a whole lot to go with him.’’
Now, he does.
Junior guard Kendal Leslie came off the bench to score 17. That included an 8-point burst in a two-minute span in the first half that gave Chamblee a 17-14 lead after the rough start.
Chamblee, the No. 2 seed from powerful Region 6-AAAA, led 10-2 after Langston Hall’s 3-pointer with 4:06 left in the first quarter but didn’t make another shot outside the paint the rest of the game. The drought was most severe in the third quarter, when Mays held Chamblee to one field goal and took a 36-26 lead.
Chamblee was held to fewer than 50 points for only the third time this season.
“We made a lot of defensive miscues in the first half trying to make plays we’re not capable of making, but thank God for our big man [Cook],’’ Mack said. “He closed down the lane.’’
Cook, a 6-foot-7 junior, had nine blocks against Sandy Creek this season and seven in a game against Banneker.
Cabell’s quiet first half was self-imposed to some extent. He attempted only four shots. His first points, a 3-pointer with 1:08 left in the first half, gave Mays a 21-20 lead. His 3 to open the second half gave Mays the lead for good, 24-22.
“I felt like I was forcing it the last game [a first-round victory against Clarke Central], and I decided to let it flow and let the game come to me this time,’’ Cabell said. “I did what I needed.’’
That included free throws. Mays was 16-of-17 in the second half, with Cabell going 5-for-5 and Leslie 8-of-8.
Mays, the champion of Region 5-AAAA, will play Friday in the quarterfinals at West Georgia in Carrollton against Hillgrove, who defeated Rockdale County 64-60 on Wednesday night.
In the girls game, Mays’ dream of a sweep was ended early as Northwest Whitfield, a No. 2 seed, won 57-53. Jordi Cook scored 12 points for Northwest (27-3), and Baleigh Coley and Emily Trew had 10 each. Mays’ Kendra Long, who has signed with Georgia Tech, scored 14, which included a pair of 3-pointers in the fourth. Mays finished 22-5.
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