Ridgeland boys earn state’s Cinderella slipper
There’s no place like home, as the old saying goes, but it appears as though the Ridgeland Panthers don’t mind playing at Southeast Whitfield as a second option.
In 2017, the Panthers upset the host Raiders on their own home floor to qualify for the state tournament for the first time since 2008. Last season, Ridgeland once again knocked off the favored Raiders at Southeast to punch another ticket to the state tournament.
Just three weeks ago, the Panthers picked up their only region victory of the regular season with a 55-41 win over the Raiders in Dalton and back at Southeast Whitfield last Tuesday night in the 6-AAAA tournament, the stakes were a little higher, but the result turned out to be a familiar one.
Seventh-seeded Ridgeland led 30-22 at halftime, trailed briefly in the fourth quarter, but came back to beat second-seeded Gilmer, 57-53, and officially become Cinderella for the upcoming Class 4A state tournament.
“We must like that floor,” head coach Matt King said. “This is why we love sports. Anything can happen on a given night.”
Fred Norman scored 10 of his gamehigh 20 points in the fourth quarter to help his team pull off the upset. Ridgeland lost both games to the Bobcats in the regular season, both by identical 68-42 scores.
Ethan Moyer knocked down four 3-pointers and had 16 big points for the Black-and-white, while Riley Harrison chipped in with 11 points. A’zavier Blackwell finished with five points. Cedric Shropshire chipped in with three and Chris Turner added two for Ridgeland, who hit seven total 3-pointers on the night and made 10-of-12 shots at the free throw line.
“I can’t tell you how proud I am of the kids, especially to beat an opponent that beat us up twice this year,” King added. “The guys were determined to make some special happen and they did it.”
Heritage boys 59, Ridgeland 47
The Panthers trailed the thirdseeded Generals 25-23 at halftime of the semifinals, but were held to just five points in the third quarter.
Moyer and Harrison led Ridgeland with 11 points apiece. Turner had eight points, while Norman finished with seven. Five points from Nathan Carver, three from K’yan Clark and two from Blackwell rounded out the scoring.
Lafayette boys 76, Ridgeland 35
Norman and Moyer had 11 points each for the Panthers (4-22). Kobe Lewis finished with six points off the bench. Turner, Blackwell and Harrison had two points apiece, while Clark added one point in the consolation game.
Ridgeland will go on the road to take on Region 7 champion Denmark in the opening round of the Class 4A state tournament. The date and time for the game had not been announced as of press time.
Heritage girls 70, Ridgeland 27
A huge first-half by the eventual region champs was more then enough to end the Lady Panthers’ season last Monday night.
Ridgeland (4-22) got a team-high 10 points from Cordasia Watkins, all in the third quarter. Makenzie Howard had seven points. D’erika Ervin finished with five. Kia Wade had two points, while Macie Boren, Payton Buchanan and Kaylee Wade all chipped in with one apiece.