BOYS BASKETBALL
The parity of the Greyhounds boys basketball region makes nearly every opponent one that presents a stern challenge. In a matchup of two highly- ranked teams in the state, Dutchtown did just that last Friday as Jones County came out of its roughly week and a half break from the holidays and dropped a 62-58 loss to Dutchtown as the Bulldogs remained undefeated and tied for the region lead.
“We knew we were going to make a run; they’re a good ball team. You’ve got two of the top teams in the state playing. They’re well-coached and very disciplined. Down the stretch, we could have done some things differently, but we just didn’t do what we needed to, and that was rebound the ball,” Greyhounds head coach Buck Harris said. “We missed some shots and turned the ball over when we probably shouldn’t have. But it’s like I told them, this loss belongs to me. I didn’t do what I should have, which was prepare them better.”
It slots the Greyhounds (12-3, 3-3) into a three-way tie with Warner Robins and its Friday road opponent, Union Grove.
As a result, the win created a gap within the region with that three-way tie for third being multiple games back of region-leading Dutchtown and Eagles Landing.
“Dutchtown took some things away from us and made us do some things that we didn’t normally do,” Harris said. “We just have to get better.”
The Bulldogs found a measure of success against Jones County, slowing the Greyhounds down inside and using a height advantage of help lead 35-27 at halftime.
“We just think we can rebound without putting a body somebody,” Harris said. “We’ll watch film and see what we can do better.”
If Jones County was to have a chance to rally back on Friday, it would need a big run to begin the second half. It manufactured just that. A quick 8-2 run closed the lead to 39-35, and a Kaden Douglas 3-pointer moved the Hounds in front 40-39, a riveting shot that would be followed by Jaylen Sanford’s layup and a Jaden Stanley layup that firmed up the Greyhounds chances headed toward the fourth, up 46-43. Sanford’s 12 points led the Greyhounds against Dutchtown, with Douglas adding 11.
But like the Greyhounds, Dutchtown had offensive capability of its own, and that showed over the final quarter as the Bulldogs would lead 53-48 with 2:45 to play. Jones County faced an uphill climb being down by multiple possessions so late in the game. The Greyhounds hung close, getting within a possession on a Daethan Harris jumper with 1:38 left. In need of a defensive stop, Jones County could only watch as the Bulldogs hit a back-breaking 3-pointer with just over a minute to go, going up 58-54 to make it a two-score game, enough to get away with a win.
“We just didn’t pay attention to details and gave up a three,” Harris said. “That was a big shot.”
