Upson-Lee boys eliminate Albany High in first round

ALBANY — The dreams of a state championship run came to an end for Albany High School Wednesday night as Upson-Lee, the fourth seed out of Region 2-AAAA, upended the Indians 66 -54 in the first round of the Class AAAA state tournament at Albany High School.

“They (Upson-Lee) did a good job of executing,” Albany boys coach Archie Chatmon said. “They did a good job of playing defense. They did a good job of executing their game plan and they stayed with it all night. They outplayed us in every facet of the game.”

Albany trailed 48-45 late in the fourth quarter, but a 6-0 run by Upson-Lee ultimately doomed the Indians as they couldn’t recover. Albany missed free throws down the stretch as well as high-percentage shots. The Indians struggled from beyond the arc all night as they weren’t able to make any 3-pointers.

“We missed some good looks, but they also played great defense,” Chatmon said. “It was a combination of the two.”

The game started off with Tyler Cheese scoring the first basket of the game. Jarvis Atwater scored the first six points for the Knights, but Cheese and Malik Dungee scored to tie the game at six early.

At that point, it was back and forth scoring by both teams at a frantic pace for the rest of the first quarter. Albany built a 14-10 lead when Dungee scored on a lay up with a little over two minutes to go. After a basket by Albany’s DeAndre Hamilton, Eric Graddick nailed a 3-pointer to pull Upson-Lee to within three by the end of the first quarter.

The Knights went on a 4-0 run to start the second quarter before Hamilton was fouled and hit two free throws, putting Albany back up 18-17. Upson-Lee’s Antonie Miller responded by hitting a 3-pointer. The rest of the half was reminiscent of a boxing match between two great fighters. However, by the halftime buzzer, Upson-Lee led 29-24.

The Knights hit four 3-pointers in the first half.

Things did not start off well for the Indians at the beginning of the second half as Dinasis Walker scored for the Knights, prompting Chatmon to call time out some 40 seconds into the half.

Upson-Lee went on a 7-2 run to start the half, capped off by a 3-pointer by Malik Craftler, his second of the game. The Knights were up 38-29 before Dungee and Hamilton scored to cut the Knights’ lead to five. The short run by Albany prompted Upson-Lee Coach Darrell Lockhart to call time out.

At that point, both teams traded baskets and Albany trailed 40-35 by the end of the third quarter. However, the Indians found it difficult at times throughout the fourth quarter, as well as the entire game, to score against the quick and tenacious half-court defense of the Knights.

Cheese led the Indians in scoring with 15 points. Two other players were in double figures for Albany as Dungee scored 12 points, while Jordan Young added 11.

Upson-Lee was led in scoring by Walker with 16 points. Two other Knights were in double figures — Antonie Tuiller scored 15 points and Jarvis Atwater scored 12.

“It was tough,” Lockhart said. “Albany’s a great city. They have a great basketball team. We got a little more breaks than they did tonight. Any other night, it could have gone the other way. In a game like this, somebody has to win. Somebody has to lose, and I thought we got the breaks tonight.”

Albany’s season comes to an end at 20-6. Upson-Lee (18-9) will travel to Buford, who defeated NW Whitfield in their first round match.