The Winder-Barrow High School boys basketball team wasn’t going to be denied this season.
The Bulldoggs won the regular season subregion title a year ago but then were upset in the quarterfinals of the Region 8-AAAA tournament. While that may have been on their minds to some degree Tuesday night, WBHS pulled away from Cedar Shoals in the second half for a 55-40 victory.
The win secured a spot in the upcoming Class AAAA tournament for the Bulldoggs and moved them into the semifinals of the 8-AAAA tournament Friday against Madison County at 5:30 p.m.
“You always want to win and advance,” said first-year WBHS coach David Sokol. “We didn’t come out with a sense of urgency. Who knows why? We had great practices this week, probably some of the best we’ve had. You have to remember you are dealing with 16, 17 and 18-year-olds. It could have been a variety of things.”
Cedar Shoals used a slower tempo in the first half to stay close. The Jaguars led 15-14 after the first quarter and trailed just 20-17 at halftime leaving open the possibility for an upset.
However, the 17-10 run in the third quarter gave the Bulldoggs a 10-point cushion and they pulled away in the fourth quarter.
Jamias Davis led the team with 15 points including two 3-pointers while D.J. Butler had a somewhat quiet although effective night with 12, eight coming in the second half.
Alonzo Nelson-Ododa had eight points but was also a force in the paint with eight boards and three blocks. Cedar Shoals was unable to counter his height in the quarterfinal contest.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Davis in the third quarter helped swing the game in Winder-Barrow’s favor. A 3-pointer by Trent Demeritte would put the Jaguars down by 10 points with 2:04 left in the third.
Up next will be Madison County who defeated Monroe Area 67-58 in another quarterfinal contest Tuesday. WBHS and Madison County split their games during the regular season.
“It will be a tough matchup,” Sokol said. “They have great guard play and do a great job of offensive rebounding. We will have to stress rebounding for Friday.”
