It took all 32 minutes on Tuesday for the LCHS Boys Basketball team to punch their ticket into the second round of the 7 AAA Region Tournament against West Hall, taking the game 53-48. Now the Indians are only one win away from clinching a spot in the state tournament.
Lumpkin used a 19-5 run over the last nine minutes of the game to secure the win, with the dagger coming from Harper Davenport, who took advantage of the defense for an easy bucket while all eyes were on star senior Jones Harris.
“We knew that Jones would get all the attention and so [Davenport] coming off that screen and getting the slip for the bucket, that’s there a lot for us in those situations because Jones does get a lot of attention,” head coach Michael Parker said. “Harper executed it perfectly and made the layup.”
Having played seven games that were decided by five points or less this season, including both times they played West Hall in region play, Parker and his team knew they’d be in for a fight if they wanted the season to continue.
“We knew we were going to have a battle," he said. "We knew they’d be prepared and they gave us their absolute best shot. It was a battle and it came down to the end. We played a lot of close games and those close games you hope that they pay off this time of year and I think they did tonight.”
Heading into the game, the Indians had lost five straight games, which Parker feels were all winnable games. This time, Lumpkin was able to capitalize.
“We’d been in a little funk. In our last five, we led three of them at halftime, two of them we lost by one, so you hope that you learn from those," said Parker. "I think as a coaching staff, we learned some things from those and our players know that the game’s never over until it hits the buzzer. Tonight was almost the complete opposite of last Tuesday. Last Tuesday we led the whole game, up 10 going into the fourth and then [West Hall] scored with 30 seconds left to beat us and then I felt like tonight, it was kind of roles reversed. They controlled the game most of the way and our guys just kept fighting back and found a way to get it done.”
After trailing most of the game, the Indians put together an 8-2 run in a crazy final minute of the third quarter to draw within three points, thanks in large part to two huge threes from freshman Cal Faulkner, who finished with a team-high 24 points. Parker said that the freshman point guard’s growth this season, specifically his shooting ability, once again proved to be beyond that of a typical freshman.
“Cal is a freshman that’s having to play a bigger role than a freshman should,” he said. “Him and I had multiple discussions over the past weeks about him needing to be more aggressive and needing to assert himself a little more for us to be successful. He’s one we had to challenge at halftime and he responded well. He’s been through the battles and I think it’s a testament to him. Especially early in the season, as a freshman, he kind of struggled some and as a coaching staff we just continued to stay with him and push him and through that and he has matured beyond his years already. He has ice in his veins and he’s really built for those moments. He wants the ball in his hands when the game is on the line. He wanted it and he hit some big shots.”
Faulkner then tied the game at 45 with another three to begin the fourth quarter and start the 11-3 run that the Indians used to clinch the game and a promise of at least one more game together.
Parker described the game as a full-team effort.
“That’s what it takes to win in the postseason,” he said. “You have to have contributions from everybody. That’s exactly what I praised them for in the locker room. It wasn’t one or two people, but the contributions we got, Clayton Woodham got a massive offensive rebound and then later penetrated, got a piece of the paint and then kicked to Cal for a huge three. That play right there was huge, that’s a winning play….Preston [Cox] didn’t have his best night offensively, but he rebounded really well. He got some key offensive rebounds late to give us extra possessions and every time you get an extra possession, they lose a possession. Those are winning plays. Hunter Cooper and Jack Carroll made winning plays in the second half. To win in the postseason, everyone has to contribute.”
While the Indians backed into the region tournament on a five-game losing streak, the squad is now just one game away from clinching a berth in the state playoffs. With that game set for Thursday night at Gilmer County against the hosting Bobcats, Parker feels momentum is on his team’s side.
“It’s big, you can’t understate how big momentum and confidence is, especially when you’re dealing with teenagers,” he said. “Hopefully they gain confidence from this, not just winning but especially the way we closed the game. I think we closed the game 8-2 in the end of the third quarter and then outscored them 11-3 in the fourth. We closed the game really well, so hopefully that springboards us and gives us a little momentum and confidence going into Thursday. It’s going to be tough. Gilmer was No. 3 in the region for a reason, because they’re tough. They’re big, they have good size and playing in their place is not easy. We know we have a challenge but I’m confident in our guys. We wanted to get in this position, one win away from the state tournament and we’ll see how they respond on Thursday.”
Lumpkin’s season will once again be on Thursday night at Gilmer, with the game set to tipoff at 7:30 p.m.