Selma has no problem with rival Ellwood
Published 11:55 pm Friday, November 28, 2014
Selma’s Quentavious Davis, right, looks for an open teammate as Ellwood Christian’s Rayford Mitchell plays defense during Friday night’s game at Selma High School. Ellwood will play Wilcox Central in Saturday’s third place game, while Selma will play Greenville for the tournament championship.–Daniel Evans
By Daniel Evans
The Selma Times-Journal
Selma’s tough style of play was too much for Ellwood Christian in Friday’s night first round match in the Selma Thanksgiving Shootout tournament.
The Saints used a formula that hasn’t failed them thus far — aggressive defense, attacking the basket on offense and knocking down free throws — to easily dispatch of rival Ellwood Christian 63-38.
“We played a little better but we have to play a great deal better tomorrow night,” Selma head coach Woodie Jackson said.
The Eagles (0-1), who were playing in their first game of the season, got down 30-8 early and never recovered against the Saints (5-0), who remain undefeated despite missing four players due to suspension.
“That first half was amazing,” Ellwood Christian coach Darrell Walker said. “We couldn’t get back and rebound and we had too many turnovers. But, first game jitters, we got them out of the way, and we won’t use that excuse any more.”
The Eagles looked like a team playing their first game in the opening minutes, falling behind 17-6 at the end of the first quarter. The Eagles seemed to play better as the game went on, but they left a lot of points on the table.
Ellwood made only 3-of -14 free throws and went 4-of-25 from the three-point line. Selma had no such problem scoring, in part because the Saints’ defense kept leading to easy scoring opportunities.
Michael Griffin led the way for the Saints with 16 points, including two thunderous dunks that brought the Selma crowd to its feet. Selma made 20 free throws, which was equal to the number of made field goals the Saints had.
Jalen Furlow led the way for the Eagles with 15 points.
Selma will move on to face Greenville in the championship game after the Tigers rolled past Wilcox Central 58-35.
Greenville knocked Selma out of playoffs last year by beating the Saints in the first round of area tournament play, although the teams no longer share an area.
Jackson knows his team will have to up their game in order to compete with Greenville.
“They have a good team,” Jackson said. “I told the kids that they just have to come ready to fight tomorrow.”
The championship game will start around 8 p.m.
