Devils overcome tough shooting night for win

♦ Defense, free throws help Model hold off pesky Warriors’ squad

With their outside shots not falling and Gordon Central hanging tough late into the fourth quarter, Model used good defense, good rebounding and timely free-throw shooting to top the visiting Warriors on Friday 54-47.

“We were 2-for30 from three tonight, 0-for-16 in the first half and that is the whole story. We haven’t played in a week, so that had something to do with it,” Model head coach Jacob Travis said. “Gordon Central got hot at the right time. Noah (Travis) made a couple of shots and then got hurt, and we couldn’t find a way to make any more. I think we got tight. It’s a hard thing when you’re not making shots to tell yourself that you’re eventually going to make them.”

Model clung to a scant 40-38 lead to start the fourth quarter. Blue Devils’ guard Jayden Hames came up with a big steal before driving the floor and hitting Stevie Dallas with a pass. Dallas finished with a basket, upping Model’s lead to 42-38.

After a free throw from Gordon Central’s Seth Haygood cut the Model lead to 45-43 with 2:51 left to play, Hames again came up with a steal and found Jakenes Heard, who scored underneath the basket to extend the Model lead to 47-43.

The Warriors would come no closer as the Blue Devils connected on free throws down the stretch.

Although the Warriors trailed 27-19 going into halftime, they came out strong in the third quarter and threatened the Blue Devils’ lead.

Gordon Central cut the Model lead to 28-26 with 6:08 in the third quarter before Jeremias Heard hit two free throws. Model’s Noah Travis delivered two huge shots over the next minute, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers and handing the Blue Devils an eight-point lead. Travis would injure his knee a few moments later and have to leave the game, and Model wouldn’t hit another 3-pointer in the contest.

Although the long-distance shots wouldn’t fall, Model turned to tenacious defense in the final quarter. Jeremias Heard recorded two big blocks and pulled down five rebounds in the quarter while hitting three free throws.

Hames had three steals including the two that led directly to baskets and also hit two free throws, while Dallas had the bucket off the steal and hit four free throws, helping end the Warriors’ upset chances.

“We defended fine and our free-throw shooting was good. Give a lot of credit to Gordon Central. They played really, really well,” Travis said. “They hit crucial shots and came out with loose balls and we did not hit shots. We got tight after we missed and it became a mental game more than anything for us.”

Freeland led Gordon Central with 15 points and also recorded 13 rebounds. Mac Mcdaniel added 13 points with several coming from 3-pointers.

Jakenes Heard led all scorers with 16 points for the Blue Devils while Jeremias Heard scored 13 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and recorded three blocks. Hames finished with seven points while Dallas and Travis each had six for Model.

The win moves Model to 17-4 overall and 9-2 in region while Gordon Central falls to 10-11 and 3-8 in region. Model travels to play at Rockmart on Tuesday to close out the regular season while Gordon Central travels to play Copper Basin.

“We’re going to need to put things back together after tonight’s game, and we’ve got to go to Rockmart which is a tough place to play,” Travis said. “Then it’s going to take us hitting the rest button and getting ourselves ready to play.”