Late surge lifts ALJ to 1A, Area 4 title
THOMASTON — A.L. Johnson pieced together a 15-4 run over the final four minutes of play Thursday night to take the Class 1A, Area 4 championship with a 55-48 win over Linden.
“That’s why we play such a tough schedule, Demopolis, Greensboro and folks like that. Our record suffers from it, but it prepares us for this run. We were down in a tournament at Sweet Water by 15 in the fourth quarter and came back and hit a three and we won that by one. These guys are battle tested,” A.L. Johnson coach Johnney Ford said, calling upon his team’s resume as the reason for its tenacity Thursday. “We knew Linden was going to bring their best shot. We knew they weren’t going to lay down. That’s what winning championships are all about. We’ve got to be ready to handle adversity and do what we’ve got to do.”
The back-and-forth affair saw Linden edge in front with 5:10 to go in the contest when Jaquarius Varner drained a three from the wing off a Tahj Johnson assist. The shot gave the Patriots a 42-40 lead. Linden stretched the advantage to 44-40 before A.L. Johnson turned the momentum in its favor.
“Too many unnecessary shots, unforced turnovers, not getting back on defense. First half, they had a lot of shots off unforced turnovers,” Linden coach Demetrius Jackson said. “Early in the fourth quarter, we went up four and we took a lot of unnecessary shots.”
The Linden miscues coupled with the frenetic pace of the Eagles helped ALJ to tie the game when Shermon Kennedy connected on a turnaround from a Lewis Anderson feed with 3:30 to play.
After a free throw and a Desmond Mair lay-in put ALJ up 47-44, Linden’s Deantre Johnson sliced in on a drive to make it 47-46. Linden could pull no closer as leading scorer Dequan Charleston fouled out, allowing the Eagles to open the advantage further with a series of transition buckets.
“They pretty much go where he goes. We know that. He’s a tough basketball player. We knew that we had to take it to him,” Ford said.
Desmond Mair took home tournament Most Valuable Player honors following a performance that saw him score 21 points and grab 20 rebounds. Kennedy made the All-Tournament team with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Johnny Robinson rounded out the ALJ representation on the All-Tournament team, finishing with nine points, four assists and three steals.
“The kids don’t get a lot of credit. Everybody thought we weren’t going to make it back here this year. They’ve done a heck of a job, these six seniors,” Ford, whose team made it to the state semifinals a season ago, said.
Charleston had 15 points and 11 rebounds for Linden while Johnson had 10 points and 11 rebounds. Isiah Scott finished with nine points and six rebounds. The Patriot trio made the All-Tournament team.
A.L. Johnson (9-7) is set to host a sub-regional contest Tuesday at 7 p.m. while Linden will travel for a sub-regional game.
Ford cited his team’s free throw shooting as a key area of focus ahead of that game. The Eagles were only 10-for-20 from the charity stripe Thursday.
““I think we just got caught up in the moment. The kids know everybody. It’s a big game. I think there were a little nerves and stuff. We’ll go back to work,” Ford said. “Free throws, basics and just getting ready for the run.”