Ramblers finish second in 6-AAAA, draw North Oconee at home
The LaFayette Ramblers fell just short of their ultimate goal of winning the program’s first region championship since 1991, but the Orangeand-Black got the nextbest thing as they will get to open the Class AAAA state playoffs this weekend in the friendly confines of Dan Priest Gymnasium.
After beating Pickens last Tuesday to punch their ticket to state, the Ramblers won their Region 6-AAAA tournament semifinal game against Heritage on a shot with four seconds to play, only to lose the region final to Northwest Whitfield on a shot with four seconds left to play.
LaFayette (22-4) will host North Oconee (13-13), the No. 3 seed from Region 8, when the playoffs start. The game will likely take place on Saturday, but the exact date and time were unknown as of press time.
The 22 wins are the most for a Rambler basketball team since 1979. Ramblers fired on all cylinders in the game’s first six minutes as they jumped out to a 13-0 lead before going on to a drama-free victory over the seventh-seeded Dragons at Southeast Whitfield High School.
The Ramblers took a 33-18 lead at halftime and they would maintain their pace in the second half as Jon Morgan’s stick-back in the opening 30 seconds of the fourth gave the Ramblers a 20-point lead at 50-30. They would lead by as many as 27 in the late stages of the game.
Andrew Pendergrass had 17 points and grabbed five rebounds in the victory. Alex Kelehear went for 14 points and six boards, while Jon Morgan had 10 points and a teamhigh 15 rebounds, six of the offensive variety.
LaFayette 44, Heritage 43
Kelehear hit the game-winner with four seconds left on the clock Thursday night as the Ramblers survived a tough battle with the third-seeded Heritage Generals.
While Kelehear was the hero in the game’s closing moments, LaFayette wouldn’t have been in position to win it without the play of Morgan in the first half.
The junior scored all 23 of his points in the first two periods, accounting for all but two of the Ramblers’ first-half points. He hit five 3-pointers, four in the second quarter alone, as he personally outscored the Generals by five in the first 16 minutes. He also finished with a teamhigh 16 rebounds.
Heritage, however, would come back in the second half as they made up the 25-18 deficit. They outscored LaFayette in the third, 15-9, and had a 43-42 lead in the final seconds before Kelehear’s late-game heroics. The Generals got a final look at a potential gamewinner themselves, but the shot was off the mark.
Kelehear finished with nine points, while Dee Southern scored five of his seven points in the fourth.
Northwest 53, LaFayette 51
In a championship game that saw nine lead changes and four ties - three in the fourth quarter alone,
the top-seeded Bruins got 26 points from Luke Shiftlett, including the game-winning runner in the lane with 4.1 seconds to play.
Kelehear, runnerup in voting for Player of the Year honors in the region, saw a final 3-pointer hit off the back of the rim as time expired as the Bruins hung on for the win.
Grant Terrell had 15 points for the Bruins. Tyrese Hunter had 14 for the Ramblers.
“I’m very proud of the guys for their effort and for how hard they fought,” head coach Hank Peppers said. “There were no dry eyes in the locker room after (the Northwest game) and that’s a great sign. It just shows how much they want to win. It was tough to have to play two back-to-back games down to the wire, but I couldn’t be more proud.”
“The focus shifts to the next game and getting better as we get set to host a state playoff game, which is awesome.”