Photo: Sardis’ Lucas Montgomery (3) drives to the basket as Gaston’s Devon Green (4) and Chapman Clay (3) defend during the Lions’ 72-63 victory in the Etowah County Schools Tournament in boys basketball on Monday, Jan. 13. in Sardis City. (Courtesy of Alex Chaney)
By Chris McCarthy/Publisher
The Sardis boys basketball team began its defense of its Etowah County Schools Tournament title in fine fashion on Monday, Jan. 13.
Sparked by a 34-point effort from Lucas Montgomery, the fourth-seeded Lions dispatched No. 5 Gaston, 72-63 in the tournament quarterfinals in Sardis City. Sardis advanced to Wednesday’s quarterfinal round against No. 1 seed Glencoe.
Montgomery scored 24 of his points in the second half, including all 19 of his team’s third quarter points when the outcome was far from decided.
“Lucas really got things going for us,” said Sardis head coach Richey Lee. “He’s a great player, and I enjoy coaching him.”
Montgomery’s basket at the 3:20 mark of the third period provided the Lions with their first double-digit lead of the game, but the Bulldogs closed out the quarter with a 14-1 run that trimmed the deficit to 46-43.
Gaston kept within striking distance during the next several minutes, eventually taking a 49-48 lead midway through the fourth frame. But the Lions regained the lead soon thereafter, and Cade Holcomb netted 15 of his 24 points over the final six minutes to help maintain the Sardis advantage.
“Cade was able to start hitting shots from the outside,” said Lee. “We made better decisions in the second half, so I’m proud of all our guys for that.”
Kodie Bogle’s put-back with 1:36 remaining closed the gap to five points, but by that time the Lions were in the bonus free throw situation, and the Bulldogs were forced to foul to regain possession. Sardis converted only 3 of 7 foul shots down the stretch, but Brian Chapman’s three-pointer with 17 seconds left stretched the Lions’ lead to eight points and effectively put the game out of reach.
“We knew it was going to be tough tonight, especially with their point guard (Mica Merriman), because he’s a great player,” said Lee. “We just tried to trap him and get the ball out o his hands. We had trouble doing that during the first quarter and half of the second [quarter], but I thought we did a better job in the second half.”
Merriman scored 11 of his team-high 25 points in the first quarter to help stake the Bulldogs to an early 15-11 lead, but Sardis finished off the period with an 8-0 run to go up 19-15. Gaston tied the game on Devon Green’s free throw with 90 seconds left in the first half. Montgomery’s layup on the Lions’ next possession sent Sardis into intermission ahead 27-25.
Green added 13 points for the Bulldogs, followed by Adonis Jones with 10 and Bogle with eight.
“Give credit to Sardis; their kids played great,” said Gaston head coach Michael Merriman. “We got some great looks every time we ran our stuff, but a lot of those times we couldn’t make shots. That’s kind of been our M.O. all year, and we’ve got to get that fixed. Outside of a few guys, we’ve been struggling all year with our shooting. We’ve got get into the gym and work on that.”
Lee acknowledged that the Lions would have their hands full against the Yellow Jackets on Wednesday.
“They’re really athletic, and they’ll be another tough test for us. They like to get up and down the court. Hopefully we can limit our turnovers and have another close game like tonight.”
In the girls’ bracket, Glencoe defeated West End, 58-25. Kinlee Montgomery paced the Lady Yellow Jackets with 25 points, followed by Payton Gray with nine and Sarah Ponder with six.