With time waning in the second overtime of a tied contest, Dean Maffin found space and hit an off balance shot that put Athens ahead for good.
The crucial bucket made it 50-47 and the Bulldogs pitched a shot out the rest of the way en route to a 56-47 victory over rival Alexander last night at home. The timeout prior to that shot, coach Jeff Skinner challenged his players to make a shot.
I absolutely need you to make a shot for us
are you going to make a shot for us? Skinner said in the huddle.
Maffin, in response to the challenge, just smiled.
He went down and showed a lot of courage to take that ball and take that shot because I wasn't so sure we wanted that shot Skinner said.
Until that point in the game Alexander had a stranglehold on the game and Michael Chapman and Jack Hart were the reason why.
Chapman picked up three quick fouls in the first quarter but was unfazed as he scored 11 points and commanded the offense.
Skinner said he knew that Chapman was not going to come out of the game.
I knew coach Gabriel would leave him in... he's got to
if he doesn't leave him in he doesn't have a chance
Skinner said. I know Michael is smart enough to stay away from silly fouls.
Hart scored 19 points and collected 18 rebounds. The biggest impact he made was redirecting shots in the paint, which caused Athens to have no inside game.
But that was fine with the Bulldogs, because they rely heavily on the 3-pointers. Josh Skinner made seven shots from behind the arc and Maffin made two 3s as well.
Skinner said that even though they made shots from the perimeter, he prefers a different style of play.
I am not a huge fan of the three point shot. I'm kind of old school
but it's there and it benefits our team
Skinner said. Without it
we would have a hard time competing
it has to be big for us.
In the first quarter DeVon Sharp went down in the first quarter with an ankle injury. Skinner there is little swelling and he doesn't hurt too bad, but Sharp would definitely be out for the game against Chesapeake tomorrow.
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