Vikings rally for OT win

By Christian Malone

January 03, 2009 03:56 am

— VALDOSTA — Lowndes’ boys basketball team rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit, then outlasted Warner Robins in overtime to win its Region 1-AAAAA opener, 84-81, Friday night.
The win was Lowndes’ sixth in the last seven games, and fourth this week. The Vikings won the FMB New Year’s Eve Classic in Lakeland earlier this week.
Friday’s win had plenty of excitement, and plenty of anxious moments for both sides.
“We showed a lot of character and a lot of heart tonight,” Lowndes head coach Kingston Clark said after the game.
The game went down to a shot at the buzzer. After Justin Mayfield’s free throw gave Lowndes a three-point lead with 5.3 seconds left, Warner Robins got the ball in the hands of All-Region forward Kenny Fluellen. Fluellen’s shot from the top of the key hit the rim and bounced away, and the Vikings were the winners.
“If we battle like we did tonight, and play the whole game like we did in the second half, we’ll be in good shape,” Clark said. “We’ve got to keep it up, because it’s a long road ahead of us.”
It was a tale of two games. The first half was all Warner Robins. The Demons took control late in the first quarter, scoring the final 10 points of the period, and led 20-10 after eight minutes.
Warner Robins went on another run in the final two minutes of the half, scoring nine of the last 11 points, and went into the locker room leading 38-24.
At halftime, Clark challenged his team to step up.
“We were so flat, and I was so discouraged at halftime, because we weren’t doing anything (well). I told them I was ready to find somebody who can play some basketball,” Clark said. “Then they showed me they were ready to play (in the second half).”
The Vikings responded. Justin Mayfield, who’d been held to just two points in the first half, sank two three-pointers, then stole the ball and raced in for a layup. Five seconds later, Mayfield stole the ball and fed Tyler Hunter, who converted a three-point play. That culminated an 11-2 run for Lowndes, and cut its deficit from 16 to seven, 42-35, barely two minutes into the second half.
“We outscored them 17-9 in the third quarter, and that’s what made the difference,” Clark said.
Trailing 47-41 heading into the fourth quarter, the Vikings took control. Aaron Winston banked in a shot, and after a Demons free throw, Robert Powell scored twice in 12 seconds, cutting Warner Robins’ lead to one. Mayfield’s layup with 6:10 left gave Lowndes its first lead since the first quarter, 49-48.
For the rest of the period, the teams traded the lead back-and-forth. Lowndes built a five-point lead, but Trevlynn Williams’ three-point play cut it to two.
With 6.9 seconds left and Lowndes leading 68-66, Williams drove the lane and tied the score. Brian Wright’s shot at the buzzer rimmed out, and the game went into overtime.
Lowndes took a 75-70 lead early in overtime with a Powell putback, a Brandon Fox tip-in and Wright’s three-pointer. But Warner Robins refused to let them pull away.
Jared Fluellen’s jumper and two free throws by Williams gave Warner Robins its last lead of the night, 81-80, with 40 seconds left.
Dribbling the ball up the court, Wright was fouled, and made both free throws, putting the Vikings on top with 34 seconds remaining. Then Fox stole the ball at the other end and passed to Hunter, who drew a flagrant foul racing for the basket. He made the second free throw, then Mayfield was fouled and made a free throw, making it 84-81 with 5.3 seconds to play. One missed shot later, the Vikings were the winners.
Powell was the best player on the court Friday night. He scored a game-high 25 points and also pulled down 15 rebounds for Lowndes. Mayfield scored 18 points, 16 after halftime, and Wright added 13.
“Robert had a great game,” Clark said. “Both he and Justin are coming along real well. We’ve got kids that are jelling together.”
Kenny Fluellen led Warner Robins with 24 points, while his brother scored 18. Williams added 15.

Lowndes girls 51, Warner Robins 29
A 21-3 run to start the game wasn’t quite a knockout punch for Lowndes Thursday. But it sure put Warner Robins on the ropes quickly, and sent the Vikettes on their way to a lopsided win.
“It was a huge win for us in our first region game,” Lowndes head coach Shan Garner said. “Warner Robins always has a good team. Our defense played well. We got on them early, and got a big lead.”
Garner has always emphasized defense first, and the Vikettes were very strong in their own end. The Lady Demons scored in single digits in three of the four quarters.
“Our defense played well,” Garner said. “I was proud of our effort. Warner Robins has a couple of guards that can really shoot it, and we shut them down. It was a total team effort. (Keira) Peak, Abrielle (Clemons) and (Amanda) Harper in particular are doing a great job on defense.”
The rout began when Lowndes scored the first 12 points of the game. The Vikettes got two free throws from Clemons and one from D’Arcy Williams, followed by a Kendra Thornton jumper and a fast break layup by Peak. Williams made a three-pointer, then stole the ball at the other end and, after being fouled, made two free throws, giving Lowndes a 12-0 lead.
Warner Robins’ Diamond Hudson finally got her team on the board with a three-point play 6:09 into the game, but the Vikettes led 12-3 at the end of one period.
Lowndes continued to dominate early in the second quarter. Peak scored inside on the first possession, then Clemons made a pair of three-pointers. Thornton’s free throw made it 21-3 less than two minutes into the quarter.
Warner Robins got the next two baskets, but Lowndes responded with six points in a row, making it 27-7.
The Lady Demons rallied at the end of the half, going on an 11-2 run that cut their halftime deficit to 29-17.
Lowndes resumed the rout in the second half, scoring 14 of the first 15 points of the period. That included two more three-pointers from Williams and a couple of inside baskets from Peak.
Lowndes scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter, and shut out the Lady Demons for the first 6:30 of the period. Warner Robins scored the game’s final seven points after Garner put in his subs for the final minutes, and cut what had been a 29-point Lowndes lead down to 22.
Williams led the Vikettes with 14 points. Peak and Clemons scored 12 points apiece. Those three combined for 38 of Lowndes’ 51 points, and outscored the entire Lady Demons’ team by nine.
“We depend on those three for a lot of our offense,” Garner said.

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