Gators roll to 47-point victory
On a night the late E.B. Price was remembered, Ware County’s Region 1 champion Gators would have made him proud.
The legendary coach was the father of Gators’ basketball starting the program with the consolidation for 1994-95 season. He served until his retirement following the 200506 campaign.
Price’s teams won region titles in 1995 and 2001 and nearly 180 of his 500+ career victories in a long storied career.
WCHS, making its 20th appearance in the state tournament, improved its mark to a school-record 25-3 with a 70-23 thrashing of Region 8 fourthseed Walnut Grove (5-23) for a school-record 10th consecutive win.
The Warriors entered having dropped 13 of their last 14 games.
The 23 points allowed shattered the previous mark of 53 points by Northside-Columbus in 2012’s first round onepoint playoff win.
The first-ever home playoff victory came in front of a raucous home crowd and ended a streak of seven consecutive first round losses.
“The crowd has shown up the last few games,” said third-year head coach Lenny Williams. “We’ve (team) brought some excitement back for basketball. These fans are hungry to see these guys play, and probably because it’s just not one guy, it’s a collective bargain.
“All of these guys (basketball players) play football. So these are their football buddies, their baseball buddies, and then all the coaching staffs are all getting into it, and the families. The community is coming out and the crowd’s have been excellent. You can’t ask for more. We’ve started having the pep band.”
Williams said the victory was being dedicated to Price.
“He laid the foundation for Ware County basket,” the coach said. “He won the last region championship (2001). All the accolades up there is for him. These guys (current team) know about it.
E.B. Price’s daughters, Brittini Tuten and Shelley Price, hold up the plaque honoring their father. They were joined by Lady Gators head coach Mandy Lingenfelter (left) and athletic director Matt Collins (right) as son-in-law Matthew Tuten and grandson Hayes Tuten look on. Photo By RICK HEAD
“We’re walking in the footsteps of everybody who played before us. I know it’s been a long time, but tonight was a special night for him and his family, and for the Gator fans and our community.”
The legendary former coach would have loved Wednesday’s opening round performance. The defensive effort was superlative, leading to many fastbreak points. At the offensive end, the Gators found openings in the middle of the Walnut Grove zone with crisp ball movement.
“We (coaching staff) just hoped our defense would keep us in the first quarter,” Williams said, referencing Ware County’s 12-day layoff.
“We got our legs moving and everybody started chipping in. We went man-to-man and locked up and then we used our press in spurts. But everybody chipped in. Everybody played their part. And that was a great team defense.
“At the other end, we did not move the ball well early in the first quarter. We started handling their (Warriors) zone and found some open areas in the middle of the zone. We (coaches) tell our guys, ‘the middle is the heart of the zone.’ That’s how you attack.
“This was a total team effort, but it’s one game at a time now. I told him, ‘We don’t care if we win by one, we just want to win and survive.’ Advancing is the name for everybody right now.”
Down 7-6 through the opening seven minutes, a three-point play by R.J. Munford (three points) gave Ware County the lead for good at 9-7 with exactly one minute to play in first period. Masiyer McKoy (four points) added a free throw 20 seconds later for a 10-7 advantage when the horn sounded.
Munford’s ole’ fashion three-point play ignited a 13-0 run, which ended with 3:48 left before intermission and the Gators holding a 19-9 advantage. Ware County scored 13 of the final 15 points of the half to extend its margin to 32-11 at intermission.
Darius Jones (gamehigh 14 points) and Kevin Ramsey (14 points) combined for 14 of the Gators’ 22 points in the second stanza.
Ware County broke the game open during the third period, outscoring the Warriors 26-9, extending the margin to 5820. The Gators were in control 40-18 at the midway point of the quarter when they went on an 180 run, stretching the lead to 58-18 with 40 seconds on the clock.
The Gators allowed a three-point basket over the six-minute “mercy rule” final period, that coming 50 seconds in getting Walnut Grove to within 58-23. The visitors did not score again, with Ware County netting the final 12 points highlighted by an Ethan Jones’ (nine points) dunk with 4:20 to play.
Ja’Londi O’Hara (trey) gave Ware County three double-digit scorers, finishing with 13 points. Isaiah White (trey) contributed six points with Luke Hinely chipping in two points.
Walnut Grove did not have a player score more than six points.
Ware County’s R.J. Munford, fouled by a Walnut Grove defender, made the basket and subsequent free throw, giving the Gators the lead for good at 9-7 with one minute left in the first quarter in the opening state playoff victory. Photo By RICK HEAD
Kevin Ramsey floats between two Walnut Grove defenders to score in the second period, helping to a 32-11 halftime lead. Photo By RICK HEAD
