AISA ELITE EIGHT: Macon East can't hold off Tuscaloosa Academy
Macon East guard Jaylen Pettway drives between to defenders in Friday’s game against Tuscaloosa Academy. (By Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
Macon East Academy got behind early in its semifinal matchup with Tuscaloosa Academy, but the Knights kept fighting back.
Each time they seemed on the verge of a rally, however, Phil McDuff was there to slam shut the door.
“When we talked before the game, the game plan was to make sure we box him out,” Macon East coach Lincoln Glass said. “If you don’t box him out, he’s a man amongst boys. He made play after play. Then when we did make stops, he kept coming again and extended the lead.”
McDuff finished with 17 points and teamed with Jaylon Stevenson to totally shut down any points in the paint from Macon East to help Tuscaloosa earn a 52-39 win on Friday in the Alabama Independent School Association boys’ state basketball tournament at the Multiplex.
Tuscaloosa will play Pike Liberal Arts for the AAA state championship on Saturday at 7 p.m.
“He’s a real quiet, unassuming kid, a great kid, yes sir, no sir,” Tuscaloosa Academy coach Barry Sanderson said. “But when he gets between the lines, he really, really competes. He has a unique ability to rebound the ball and just take it (all the way to the basket) and I just let him do it. Most guys don’t, but that’s his strength. I will always go down fighting with a Phil McDuff.”
Tuscaloosa surged ahead early with its domination of the paint and got a couple of turnovers to extend the lead over Macon East, building an eight-point halftime lead that had the Knights fighting an uphill battle the remainder of the game just to stay within striking distance.
“We said if we take care of the basketball, stop McDuff on the boards and limit their 3-pointers, we have a chance to win this game,” Glass said. “Us digging ourselves a hole really hurt. I applaud our guys. They fought. TA brought it, they’re coached well and they played hard from start to finish.”
Jaylan Pettway had just seven points, all in the fourth quarter, but the Macon East point guard kept his team in the contest despite Tuscaloosa’s dominance in the paint.
“They’re athletic,” Sanderson said. “Their point guard’s a problem. We wanted to keep their shooters in check. We didn’t do a great job but I thought the 1-3-1 (zone defense) bought us some time and kept us out of foul trouble.
“(But the early deficit) ends up making them play a little faster and we don’t play as well when they play faster. Give those guys credit, they kept fighting until the bitter end. We just made a few more plays to get the win.”
Chris Daniel and Jeremiah Carnegie combined for 24 of Macon East’s 39 points, using perimeter shots to keep close. With a little more than six minutes left, the Knights made their final push as Daniel, who finished with 13 points, drained a 3-pointer from the corner to cut the deficit to 36-30.
Back came McDuff, scoring on a basket that started an 8-0 run to put Tuscaloosa up 44-30 with 4:03 remaining. When Macon East trimmed the lead to eight points, McDuff answered again with another basket to finish off the Knights.
Sam Rowley had 14 points for Tuscaloosa, followed by Stevenson with 12.
Macon East finished the season at 20-13, but Glass was proud of his team’s performance this season, particularly Pettway, the only senior starter on last year’s rebuilding squad that picked up the pieces from a program that had reached the finals the previous three years.
“He’s been through last season, through a losing season, and for them to bounce back the way they did, to be in the Final Four, I’m proud of his effort, I’m proud of his heart,” Glass said. “I’m proud of what this team has done for the school.
“It’s pretty much a brand-new team, seven new players. Just for us to be in this position? This is the standard. We’re supposed to be out here every year. That’s what those guys have to understand. Macon East is a basketball school. We expect to be out here, playing for championships.”