END OF THE SEASON
One postseason ago, the road was very kind of the Greyhounds, who ripped through their part of the bracket all the way to the state semifinals.
And after last Wednesday’s first-round win at McIntosh, one line of thinking was that perhaps the fourth-seeded Greyhounds could make another deep state tournament run.
Those hopes, however, ended on Saturday afternoon against one team that JCHS beat in that same round last year as the revenge-minded Tucker Tigers had everything go their way in a 72-40 win. The loss ends Jones County’s season with a record of 19-11 and a second trip in a row to the Sweet 16 round of the state tournament.
“For us to be here in the Sweet 16 with the cards that we’ve been dealt, that’s a huge accomplishment within itself,” Greyhounds head coach Buck Harris said.
The Greyhounds’ season came to a halt Saturday in an afternoon of seemingly anything that could go wrong occurring for Jones County. Between shots misfiring, bad bounces, a slow scoring start, turnovers and an opponent eager for payback, it all added up with Tucker advancing to the state quarterfinals.
“It was a lot of them and a lot of us,” Harris said. “I think once the brackets came out and (Tucker) saw that we were a potential matchup, they had that circled and wanted some revenge, and they got it. They were focused, they were a lot more focused than us. I thought we were more focused, and that falls back on me because my guys were not ready to play. It was evident in how we took care of the ball and how many easy shots we missed. It’s disappointing to go out the way we did.”
To say that the opposing rim was unkind to Jones County on Saturday would be an understatement. The Tigers began the game on an 11-1 run and led 21-1 through one quarter. The Greyhounds didn’t manage their first field goal until 7:46 remained in the first half. By then, the hill to climb for JCHS was steep and one that they could not overcome. Tucker led 42-21 at the half and was led by Kaden Douglas’ 12 points, 11 by Jaden Stanley and eight from Jaleel Jordan.
As disappointing as a loss in the round of 16 was for Jones County, the fight to the end mentality was on full display in Wednesday’s first-round game in Peachtree City against McIntosh, a region champion.
After things between the Chiefs and Greyhounds stayed in close quarters most the way, a 13-4 run over the final four minutes gave Jones County its first-round upset against a region champion for the second year in a row.
Kaden Douglas did his best to help Jones County pull away in the third quarter when he drained a three pointer, but the Chiefs pulled within two points, down 32-30. As for Douglas? He simply extended the lead back out, ahead 35-30 on another three pointer.
“We didn’t have our best shooting night, but we did some things that helped us. It was timely threes that won it for us. It was a good win for us,” Harris said.
But the Chiefs got their perimeter game on even firmer footing in the final quarter, grit that did not shock Harris.
“It’s never easy. They have a history of winning here, and they are region champs for a reason,” Harris said. “They made shots and were not going to go away.”
McIntosh not only closed the deficit to 40-38 but even led 45-44 with 3:48 to play. The Greyhounds would not spend much time trailing, however. Jaden Stanley nailed a three pointer, moving JCHS in front 47-45. Jones County held on from there, inching ahead 52-49 before a Tyler Wold putback off of an offensive rebound all but clinched the win.
“He gets a putback here with an and 1, and he gets a defensive stop down there,” Harris said. “It’s all about defensive possessions, getting one stop at a time.”
