Second-half run pushes Ridgeland boys to initial 7-AAAA victory
It may not be remembered as the prettiest win in school history, but it couldn’t have come at a better moment for the Ridgeland Panthers.
Staring at the possibility of dropping the first three games of a fivegame road swing, the Black-andWhite put their long-awaited first checkmark in the region win column this season with a 50-41 gutcheck victory over Heritage last Tuesday night in Boynton.
“We’ve been very competitive in some of these region games and in some we’ve actually had the lead late,” Panther head coach Matt King said. “I think learning how to win is the most difficult thing to do with a lot of young players out there, but this is certainly (a win) that’s very important for us. Hopefully it gets us going in the second half of our region schedule.”
Ridgeland (7-11, 1-6) opened the game by holding the Generals scoreless for the first 5:40 of the contest and eventually taking an 8-5 lead at the end of a very lowscoring opening quarter.
The Panthers’ defense stayed solid in the second quarter as Heritage began to fall further and further behind. Ridgeland stretched out its advantage to as much as 11 (16-5) with less than three minutes to go, although a late 3-pointer by Heritage’s Kaleb Gallman brought the Generals back to within seven points, 19-12, at the end of the half.
But after struggling to find any kind of consistent offense in the first half, Heritage (8-9, 4-4) started chipping away early in the third quarter. They slashed Ridgeland’s lead to 21-18 with 3:24 gone in the second half, prompting King to call a much-needed timeout.
The brief meeting over, the Panthers got back on the floor and erupted with a 14-0 run that turned the game on its ear.
Kyan Clark hit a 3-pointer with 2:05 left in the period to push the lead back to 10 and that bucket was followed by a steal and lay-up from Chase Hickman and a 3-pointer by Ridgeland big man Judd Anderson that got the Panthers and their traveling student section to its feet.
“I told them that I felt our effort was lacking and they needed to make a decision on whether or not they were going to be a third-quarter team,” King recalled about the timeout. “The third quarter has been a really bad quarter for us this year. I told them that we could keep chasing them around and lose the game or decide to get our hands active, play like we played in the first half and go get the win.
With the Panthers up 35-21 to start the fourth, Gallman hit a quick three for the Generals, but Ridgeland countered with two long-range shots by Matthew Ramsey, while another bucket by Clark extended the lead to 17 with 5:02 remaining.
Heritage eventually worked Ridgeland’s lead back down to eight points with less than a minute play, but they would not get any closer. Zack Harrison hit four straight free throws in a 12-second span and Hickman sunk 3 of 4 from the charity stripe in the final 38 seconds to seal the victory.
Anderson had a game-high 20 points, despite fouling out with two minutes to play. Hickman had 12 points and Clark finished with eight. The two fourthquarter treys accounted for Ramsey’s six points, while the four late free throws made up Harrison’s total on the night. Senior Price Ray also came up with a big blocked shot in the lane in the final two minutes, just moments after Anderson drew his final foul.
“I thought we did a much better job taking care of the ball,” King added. “Chase played a big part, and Kyan too, of taking care of the ball, and Judd had another wonderful game. Overall, we just showed a lot more patience and trust with what we’re trying to do. I’m proud of them for that one.”
Gallman led Heritage with 11 points. Ty Loveless scored eight and Travillian ended the night with seven. The rest of the scoring included six from Kaden Swope, four by Collin Swearingin, three from Carson Green and two by J.C. Armour.
HERITAGE GIRLS 66, RIDGELAND 25
The Lady Generals have played solid defense all season long. But if they continue to shoot from the outside like they did last Tuesday night, they’ll be a handful for anybody to try and handle for the rest of the season.
The Navy-and-Red, who broke into the AJC Class AAAA poll at No. 9 earlier in the day, knocked down a dozen 3-pointers and turned what had been a close game through the first eight minutes into a comfortable win.
The game started out evenly through the first six minutes. A 3-pointer by Heritage’s Brooke Matherly was countered by four points on a pair of nice
low-post moves by Ridgeland’s Annabel Hill and the two teams crossed the six-minute mark deadlocked at 10 apiece.
The Lady Generals (14-5, 7-1) scored the final four points of the quarter to forge a 14-10 lead, but things would change in a hurry once the second quarter began.
Heritage put up the first four points in the first 60 seconds of the quarter to kick off what became a 15-2 run. Matherly and Kortney McKenzie highlighted the run with 3-pointers in the first half of the period.
Macie Collins drained a three with just over two minutes to play and Katie Coke came off the bench and finished the quarter with another long-range shot to give the home team a 35-12 advantage at halftime.
It would be more of the same when the second half began.
Heritage opened the third quarter of play on another 15-2 run and they stayed hot from the outside for the remainder of the period as Matherly, McKenzie and Aaliyah Rodgers all connected from behind the arc. McKenzie finished with two 3-pointers in the quarter and the Lady Generals took a 55-18 lead into the fourth, which was shortened to six minutes.
Matherly and McKenzie each finished with 14 points. Collins had eight and Rodgers collected six, while Coke, Gracie Murray and Lauren Mock each scored five. Four points from Bree Wilson, three by Renee Weldon and two from Riley Kokinda rounded out the scoring.
Hill scored 12 points for the Lady Panthers (4-14, 1-6). Haylee Collins had five points off the bench in the fourth quarter. Cordasia Watkins finished with four, while Lexie Young and McKensie Miller each scored two.