The Raiders kept the dream season alive, turning in an elite performance in a 72-60 final Saturday night in Mt. Airy against Brunswick. The win secured the program its first-ever Elite 8 berth.
The #3 Raiders (27-3) had good momentum early with a flurry of buckets by JoJo McCurry. That had Habersham leading 12-6 after a low-scoring opening quarter.
After the game got tight early in the second, McCurry proceeded to knock down three shots from downtown and two at the top of the key. He accounted for 15 of the first 21 Raiders points. Habersham went on a run to pull ahead 31-22 at the half over the #10-ranked Pirates (22-5).
Judge Wilbanks had a quick start to the third with a couple shots going in including one from long range for a 10-point lead. Enzo Combs forced a timeout with a monster dunk on a full court pass from McCurry, padding the advantage to 14 points late in the third. Justus Gober had a 3-point play and Combs beat the buzzer with a shot from beyond the arc to make it a 52-37 margin heading into the final period.
Playing with urgency, the Pirates got within seven a few times, though Combs and Gober answered back to keep some distance. The former notched 20 second half points. The final minutes were electric as the crowd was well aware of what it was witnessing.
Combs closed with a game-high 28 points, and was followed by McCurry (17), Wilbanks (13), Gober (8), and Jalen Davis and Jake Mihalick two apiece. Brunswick had three in double figures also, led by Heze Kent’s 18, and Caleb Butler’s 13 and Antwone Levros’ 12.
