Bulldogs boys basketball team finishes solid season
More than a week has passed since the end of Cedartown’s boys basketball season, one can truly sit down and look back at the season, analyzing it for what it wasa success.
Heading into the year, Coach Benjie Frazier stated that he expected his players to play hard from start to finish, compete well in region play, and to make the playoffs. His squad accomplished those goals in the 2018-19 season.
The Bulldogs finished the regular season 12-13 overall (5-7 in region play). After starting the year with three straight losses against tough basketball teams in Temple, Paulding County, and South Paulding, they bounced back on the first day of December. In Floyd County, Cedartown used a great final two minutes to pull away from the Coosa Eagles, winning 61-51 for their first victory.
The Bulldogs went streaking throughout the rest of early December, winning five consecutive games. After downing the Eagles, they traveled north to Pickens County, defeating the Dragons 74-47. Cedartown exacted revenge on Temple, beating them by 20, before beating area power Rome by 6. In an exciting match-up cut short due to a brawl on the court, the Bulldogs defeated rival Rockmart 39-37.
To finish up the last month of 2018, the basketball squad entered the Georgia Vinyl and Thread Rockmart Christmas Tournament. In the first round, Cass beat Cedartown by 7, but the Bulldogs would bounce back again the next night, reigning victorious over Bremen thanks to a Elijah Pace buzzerbeating three at the end of the first overtime period.
With the new year came new opponents for Cedartown, taking on Region 5-4A foes for the next month. As impressive as the start to the year had been, the region schedule would determine whether or not the Bulldogs would make the playoffs. It started promisingly, as they defeated Cartersville by 8 at CHS on Jan. 4. After a pair of tough losses to LaGrange and Central, Cedartown fell to Rockmart in the second match-up between the two teams this season.
The downward spiral continued for them, as they fell to region powers Troup County and Sandy Creek in back-to-back contests, bringing their losing streak to 5 games.
In mid-January, Cedartown basketball was able to once again bounce back, defeating Chapel Hill in Cedartown to end the losing streak. After falling in Cartersville, they won three straight games on their home floor, beating LaGrange and blowing out Central and Coosa. As the regular season neared to a close, the Bulldogs fell to Troup County and Sandy Creek before defeating Chapel Hill in overtime. The win secured a four seed for them heading into the region tournament.
In the region tournament, Cedartown played their toughest game all season- and arguably, one of their greatest comebacks in recent memory. After being neck-andneck the entire first half, Chapel Hill pulled away from Cedartown for a 16-point lead. The Bulldogs hunkered down and overcame their biggest deficit of 2018-19, and a Zah Frazier dunk with less than a minute left was the thunderous exclamation point on the Cedartown comeback. With the 58-55 victory, the Bulldogs clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2008-09.
After losing to Sandy Creek and Troup County once again in the remainder of the region tourney at Sandy Creek High School, Cedartown was officially named the four-seed of Region 5-4A for the state playoffs. Unfortunately, this paired the Bulldogs up with state favorite St. Pius X, a top five team in Georgia. Cedartown could not keep up with the Golden Lions’ three point shooting, falling 81-40.
Even with the postseason loss, it is hard to view this year as anything less than a success for Coach Benjie Frazier and his Bulldogs. They were able to shrug off the monkey that had been on their backs for a decade, breaking into the GHSA Basketball State Playoffs. Senior leaders Zah Frazier and Elijah Pace had amazing seasons offensively and defensively, but the story of the year was the youth of the team stepping up. Junior DJ Frazier and sophomores Jayden Johnson, Jeremiah Johnson, Jadon Powell and Micheal Walker all surged into the starting lineup at points in the season.
Additionally, freshman MJ Holiday burst onto the scene as a star point guard for Cedartown.
With as great as this year was for Coach Frazier’s boys, the groundwork is laid for even more success in the near future for Bulldog Hoops.