Warriors nip Senators in OT
Published 12:00 am Friday, December 31, 2004
It was a game both head coaches wanted to see, and the action was well worth the wait.
Tee Woods sank three free throws in the final minute and Bud Smith added a pair of charity shots in the closing moments Thursday as the Central Christian Academy Warriors got by the Morgan Academy Senators in overtime, 62-56.
The game marked the first-ever meeting between the two teams, and neither team disappointed. The contest featured 28 lead chances and 12 ties.
“Maybe this is the start of something good,” Central Christan coach Carl Rawls said. “It was a good game and it could be a start of a good rivalry.”
Morgan Academy coach David Walker was happy with playing the Senators’ cross-town rivals, but not with his players’ performance.
“We got outplayed,” Walker said. “They’re, by far, the quickest team we’ve faced this year. Their speed and outside shooting hurt us.”
Trailing 52-49, the Warriors (8-2) tied the game on a three-pointer by Smith, who pulled up and drained the long-range shot.
After a driving layup by Jeremy Smith gave the Senators back the two-point lead, Woods hit a three-pointer from the left wing as the Warriors re-gained a one-point margin, 55-54.
Woods followed that with a circus shot, switching the ball to his right hand in mid-air and hitting a lay-up off the glass while being double-teamed. Smith and Woods led the Warriors with 24 and 19 points, respectively. Simuel Walker chipped in 11 points.
“This was our first overtime game this year, I think maybe in the last two years,” Rawls said. “We kept our composure and played hard.”
A pair of Reid Tolar free throws got Morgan back in the game, trailing by just one with 36.1 seconds to go.
A CCA turnover gave the Senators a chance to take the lead, but Smith’s three-point try from the right corner rimmed out with 22.4 seconds left.
Tolar finished with a game-high 27 points, while Smith added nine.
Smith forced overtime when he hit one of two charity shots with 1:48 to go in regulation.
However, neither team was able to score the rest of the way.