Elkmont can’t keep up with Carbon Hill
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HANCEVILLE — The magic came to an end for Elkmont High. A team that’s grown accustomed to winning close games with thrilling comebacks couldn’t muster one more on the big stage at Wallace State-Hanceville.
Carbon Hill raced out to a commanding lead and never let up, running past Elkmont 50-36 in the Class 3A boys Northwest Regional final Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs advance to play in the state semifinals in Birmingham.
“I appreciate the effort of our kids,” Elkmont coach Garth Garris said. “Today, we just didn’t shoot the ball well.”
Elkmont overcame a 16-point first-half deficit to beat Holly Pond in overtime during the regional semifinals Wednesday. The Red Devils found themselves in a similar hole in the regional final. “I think the comeback Wednesday took a lot out of us today,” Garris said. “We didn’t have the legs to come back. And when we fell behind early, we had to change our defense (to a man-to-man).
“We didn’t want to play man against them. We wanted to play zone. But when you get down 12, we had to play man and trap. It took its toll.”
Carbon Hill carried a 16-12 lead into halftime, but the start of the second half was delayed for about 15 minutes because of an issue with one of the goals at Wallace State. Before the start of the third period, Carbon Hill forward Gerald Smith told a game official that the goal the Bulldogs would be using in the second half was lower than the regulation 10 feet. After being inspected by Alabama High School Athletic Association officials, the goal was raised about eight inches to meet regulations. The tip of the rim was also angled up slightly. That problem was not corrected by tournament officials. AHSAA officials said the goal dropped during warm-ups before the second half.
Smith said that’s not true.
“I noticed it when we were watching the game before ours,” he said. “Shots were going long because the goal wasn’t right. It’s been like that (all week) because we had people getting to the rim who usually can’t.” Smith isn’t the only person who noticed a problem with the goal. Butler point guard Justin Pride said one of the rims at Wallace State “wasn’t right” after the Rebels’ Class 4A regional semifinal game Wednesday. Garris also said he thinks the rim was lower than 10 feet for the entire tournament. Elkmont shot at that goal in the first half and was 23.8 percent from the field during that stretch.
“It was like that to start the game,” the Red Devils coach said. “We noticed it when we were down here Wednesday. It wasn’t 10 foot. It’s been leaning the whole time. I could tell from just watching the girls game, and we’ve had some kids get up above it who can’t do that. “But let me be clear: That had nothing to do with the game. The goal not being right isn’t why we lost.”
Slowing down Tylor Owens was a problem for Elkmont. The Carbon Hill star poured in 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds, helping the Bulldogs build a comfortable 16-point lead by early in the third period. Elkmont made a couple of runs late, cutting the lead to 10 twice. But problems at the free-throw line stalled the Red Devils’ hopes at another comeback. The Red Devils finished 11 of 21 from the foul line.
“You’ve got to make free throws if you’re going to come back from a hole like we were in,” Garris said. “It just didn’t happen for us today.” Hayden Huseth led Elkmont with nine points, while Cole Glass scored eight.
“This is very disappointing,” Elkmont center Dan Logan said. “We played hard, but that’s how it goes. We just got beat, but it still hurts.”
Photo gallery link: http://decaturdaily.com/stories/Elkmont-loses-to-Carbon-Hill,92090
Carbon Hill raced out to a commanding lead and never let up, running past Elkmont 50-36 in the Class 3A boys Northwest Regional final Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs advance to play in the state semifinals in Birmingham.
“I appreciate the effort of our kids,” Elkmont coach Garth Garris said. “Today, we just didn’t shoot the ball well.”
Elkmont overcame a 16-point first-half deficit to beat Holly Pond in overtime during the regional semifinals Wednesday. The Red Devils found themselves in a similar hole in the regional final. “I think the comeback Wednesday took a lot out of us today,” Garris said. “We didn’t have the legs to come back. And when we fell behind early, we had to change our defense (to a man-to-man).
“We didn’t want to play man against them. We wanted to play zone. But when you get down 12, we had to play man and trap. It took its toll.”
Carbon Hill carried a 16-12 lead into halftime, but the start of the second half was delayed for about 15 minutes because of an issue with one of the goals at Wallace State. Before the start of the third period, Carbon Hill forward Gerald Smith told a game official that the goal the Bulldogs would be using in the second half was lower than the regulation 10 feet. After being inspected by Alabama High School Athletic Association officials, the goal was raised about eight inches to meet regulations. The tip of the rim was also angled up slightly. That problem was not corrected by tournament officials. AHSAA officials said the goal dropped during warm-ups before the second half.
Smith said that’s not true.
“I noticed it when we were watching the game before ours,” he said. “Shots were going long because the goal wasn’t right. It’s been like that (all week) because we had people getting to the rim who usually can’t.” Smith isn’t the only person who noticed a problem with the goal. Butler point guard Justin Pride said one of the rims at Wallace State “wasn’t right” after the Rebels’ Class 4A regional semifinal game Wednesday. Garris also said he thinks the rim was lower than 10 feet for the entire tournament. Elkmont shot at that goal in the first half and was 23.8 percent from the field during that stretch.
“It was like that to start the game,” the Red Devils coach said. “We noticed it when we were down here Wednesday. It wasn’t 10 foot. It’s been leaning the whole time. I could tell from just watching the girls game, and we’ve had some kids get up above it who can’t do that. “But let me be clear: That had nothing to do with the game. The goal not being right isn’t why we lost.”
Slowing down Tylor Owens was a problem for Elkmont. The Carbon Hill star poured in 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds, helping the Bulldogs build a comfortable 16-point lead by early in the third period. Elkmont made a couple of runs late, cutting the lead to 10 twice. But problems at the free-throw line stalled the Red Devils’ hopes at another comeback. The Red Devils finished 11 of 21 from the foul line.
“You’ve got to make free throws if you’re going to come back from a hole like we were in,” Garris said. “It just didn’t happen for us today.” Hayden Huseth led Elkmont with nine points, while Cole Glass scored eight.
“This is very disappointing,” Elkmont center Dan Logan said. “We played hard, but that’s how it goes. We just got beat, but it still hurts.”
Photo gallery link: http://decaturdaily.com/stories/Elkmont-loses-to-Carbon-Hill,92090
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