Habersham Central High School’s varsity boys basketball team’s season came to a close as it dropped a tough, 52-45 game in the first round of the state playoffs against Langston Hughes High School on Wednesday in Mt. Airy.
A mix of rushed shots and Langston Hughes (20-8) moving to a 1-3-1 defensive set stymied the Raider (20-8) offense down the stretch. The Panthers were also effective on the defensive boards over the final 10-plus minutes of play, decisively eliminating any attempts at second-chance points for HCHS.
The Panthers put together 15 and 13 points in the final two quarters and held the Raiders to nine and 10 in that time.
“I feel like we just rushed a couple (of shots) and made a couple of mistakes,” HCHS Head Coach Tommy Yancey said. “From the mistakes, we were trying to overcompensate and trying to get back in it.
“To be honest, we got hurt on the boards down the stretch. That’s what really hurt us – boards and turnovers,” he continued. “It really wasn’t anything they did or anything like that.”
In odd fashion, there was no tip-off to start the game. There was an issue with the scorekeeper’s book not being completed on time by the Langston Hughes representatives, which resulted in a technical foul.
Josiah McCurry stepped to the line to take the free throws, making 1-of-2 shots, to give the Raiders (20-8) the lead before any time was taken off the clock.
The Panthers (20-8) outscored HCHS 10-8 throughout the first quarter, giving them a one-point advantage to start the second.
The Raiders settled into their game and were able to get to the basket more in the second quarter, taking a 26-24 lead into the halftime break.
Judge Wilbanks and Caden Garrison each hit a 3-pointer in the second period, but it was six points from Justus Gober and five from Enzo Combs that propelled HCHS to its lead. The two were very effective at getting to the basket.
Gober led the Raiders on the night with 14 points.
McCurry finished with nine. Combs and Jalen Davis netted seven each, Wilbanks had five and Garrison had three.
Yancey said the post game conversation in the locker room was one of thank yous more than reflection. That, he said, would come in time.
“It’s more just explaining our gratitude as coaches for the effort and sacrifices they’ve made,” Yancey said. “They’ve gone a long way towards building our culture here. We’ve established a pretty elite culture in our opinion. It really helps us in a lot of different ways – on and off the court.
“Post game was just more about telling them thank you. We’ll deal with this season and talking about it in the weeks to come,” he continued. “Right now, it’s just more of our gratitude for those seniors and gratitude for the guys in the program that have worked so hard.”
