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photo by Barrett Welch
Central Christian’s Bryant Rawls (23) drives to the basket against Coosa Valley’s Gage Holmes on Thursday.
Warriors throttle Rebels
Published Thursday, February 12, 2009
MONTGOMERY — Central Christian coach Carl Rawls expected his team would have a case of the jitters when it played Coosa Valley in the AISA Class A Elite Eight on Thursday.
True to expectations, the one-seed Warriors played a sloppy first half, and then pulled away in a 76-43 win.
Central Christian had a hard time pulling away from Coosa Valley early, as the Rebels matched the Warriors shot for shot. A 7-0 run capped by a Keevan Woods 3-pointer allowed the Warriors take an 18-9 lead at the end of the first period.
A Brandon Batchelor layup cut the Warriorsí lead to 20-15 at the 4:23 mark of the second quarter, but that is as close as Coosa Valley would get. A Woods 3-pointer sparked a 15-4 run to extend the Warriors’ lead to 35-21 at the break.
“Give credit to (Coosa Valley). They hung around for the first quarter,” said Rawls. “We’re usually a third quarter team.”
That pattern continued as a 15-7 run capped by another Woods 3-pointer — this time, at the buzzer — put Central Christian in the driver’s seat with a 57-34 lead as the final period approached.
“We hung with them a little while,” said Coosa Valley head coach Mike Clinkscales. “I’m not disappointed at all. They gave it everything they had.”
With the win, Central Christian advances to next week’s Final Four — one win from the championship game. The games get bigger from here, but Rawls makes it a point to keep his players focused.
“It is big to have the first one out of the way,” said Rawls. “I’m telling them to still have fun. We are prepared. We know what to do.”
Five players scored in double figures for the Warriors (22-7). Woods scored 32 points and Bell added 20. Bryant Rawls, Trevoris Sheppard and Darius Barlow finished with 10 points apiece.
J.B. Ripley led the Rebels (19-10) with 20 points. Gage Holmes added 10.
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Posted by me (anonymous) on February 13, 2009 at 10:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
speaking of schools...why was the sheriff called out to Martin Middle school? The staff out there needs to get this under control!! These are 7th and 8th graders.
Posted by bigbama (anonymous) on February 13, 2009 at 10:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What has Central Christian got to do with the sheriff being called out to Martin Middle?
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