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Etowah falls in area semifinals in Graves’ final game

Photo: Etowah’s Jacob Turner (left) drives to the basket as Oneonta’s Maddox Imperato defends during the Blue Devils’ 54-52 loss in the Class 4A Area 11 Tournament basketball semifinals on Monday, Feb. 3 in Attalla. (Courtesy of Alex Chaney)
 
James Graves’ last game as Etowah High boys basketball coach came a bit earlier than he and his team would have liked.
Facing Oneonta in the Class 4A Area 11 Tournament semifinals on Monday, Feb. 3 in Attalla, the Blue Devils came up short in overtime, 54-52, to end their season and leave Graves with a career win total of 368 games.
It looked as if Etowah would advance to the tournament title game after building a 16-point lead midway through the third quarter, but the Redskins finished out the period with an 18-2 run that tied the game at 35-35. The Blue Devils did not help their cause when four turnovers led to eight points for Oneonta during that stretch.
A three-point basket from Bennett Reeves at the 4:05 mark of the fourth quarter provided Etowah with a seven-point lead, but the Blue Devils were hampered by missed shots and turnovers during the next few minutes. The Redskins took advantage, knocking down three 3-point baskets over the final 90 seconds of regulation to force a 47-47 tie.
The four-minute extra session proved no better for Etowah. Jacob Turner’s basket at 1:27 tied the game at 52-52, but a missed shot and a turnover led to Oneonta having possession with 11 seconds left. The Redskins worked the ball to Britten Zeh, who drove the lame and converted a lay-up with two seconds remaining. The Blue Devils’ last-second shot attempt fell short of the basket, sending the Redskins to the tournament championship game against Hokes Bluff on Wednesday, Feb. 5.
“This [loss] was nobody’s fault but our own,” said Graves. “We got up by 18 points and then started to throw the ball away and do dumb things. Give [Oneonta] credit. They made some big 3’s and got back into the game. We missed too many free throws and we didn’t make enough baskets to give ourselves a chance to win.”
Eleven points from Jacob Turner helped Etowah take a 17-12 lead entering the second quarter. The Blue Devils limited Oneonta to four points during the period, and Peyton Morrison’s three-point basket at the buzzer sent Etowah into halftime ahead 26-17.
A 7-0 run to start the second half pushed the Blue Devils’ advantage to 33-17, but that double-digit cushion was not quite enough to hold off the Redskins down the stretch.
Reeves and Turner both finished with 13 points, followed by Christian Morrison with 10 and Jameson Scissum with nine. Zeh led Oneonta with 16 points.

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