SOUTHEAST REGIONAL: New day for Lanier in win over Pelham

BY GRAHAM DUNN

Sidney Lanier’s day at the Class 6A Southeast Regional was all set.

With one exception.

There would be no talk of the Poets’ nemesis – it wasn’t necessary. Go out and win and move to the next round.

The message had been clear from coach Brian Williams.

“We didn’t think about losing,” Williams said. “We’d been in this situation before. Five times we been here and not gotten past the regional. We have one more hurdle.”

That will come on Tuesday thanks to the Poets’ 60-46 win over Pelham at Garrett Coliseum on Friday.

Lanier (14-13) will face Eufaula, a 77-66 winner over Calera earlier in the day, in the regional final.

“Great win for Lanier basketball,” Williams said. “We’ve been here five years in a row. Like I tell my guys, everybody at this point of the season has a good basketball team. You play your best and you have a shot.”

Pelham was considered a surprise entry, having a 14-16 record entering Friday’s game. But the Panthers hit Lanier with everything they had in the first half, taking as much as a five-point lead and trailed by four at halftime.

They would take the lead by a point when Lanier suffered a scoring drought.

But Lanier never panicked, rushing back out to a seven-point lead midway through the final frame mostly on the work of Joshua Williams (18 points) and Antwan Burnett (23), who led the Poets in scoring.

“We figure we can put a little pressure on them and push the ball when we needed it,” Williams said. “We didn’t worry about taking the (foot) off the gas. Their big kid (Blake Floyd) played a helluva game tonight.

“But considering who we’ve played, we were prepared for this. We feel like if we stay with what we do, at some point, we can bust the game open.”

That happened at the 2:18 mark in the fourth when Lanier took its biggest lead at 17 points.

“We had to work on some things but we weren’t too worried,” Juan Brown said. “It was a matter of staying with our game”

Past failures in the regional was enough of an influence to carry the Poets to the win.

“I kept thinking – I can’t go home with a loss,” Burnett said. “That was all it was about. We had to put everything that has happened here and play our game.”

This will be the third straight year Lanier has reached the regional final. Each time, arch-rival Carver has been waiting. The Wolverines were eliminated by Eufaula in the sub-regional earlier in the week.

“The past may have been about Carver but this is about us,” Burnett said. “I would have liked to have them here but we are about getting to Birmingham, no matter who is in front of us.”

“We have a monkey on our back,” Williams added. “Five years – we’ve lost in this tournament. We will get to the next basketball game. We will do what we do but it’s all about playing our type of basketball.”

Eufaula 77, Calera 66

Eiszeric Thomas pumped in 29 to lead Eufaula to a win in the Cass 6A Southeast Subregional win over over Calera on Friday at Garrett Coliseum.

Jadariou Blackshire added 18 points for the Tigers (26-5), who will face Sidney Lanier in the regional final on Tuesday.

Chad Chambers had 21 points for Calera (19-8).

Opelika girls 61, Eufaula 48

The Lady Bulldogs (26-6) broke open a close game by outscoring Eufaula, 21-6 in the final quarter to pull away for the win.

Haley Sanders was one of three players in double figures for Opelika with 19 points. Eufaula’s Kaitlin Peterson led all scorers with 38 points.

Opelika will face Dothan in the Class 6A Southeast Regional final on Tuesday morning.

Dothan girls 57, Chelsea 47

Dothan (23-5) pulled away and led by as many as 15 points in the third quarter on the way to a win over Chelsea in the girls Class 6A Southeast Regional at Garrett Coliseum on Friday.

Alexas Hudgens led the way with 17 points. Jordan Parker had 15 points for Chelsea (26-6).