South Stokes played the final game of its elite 2022-23 season on Feb. 28.
South Stokes, the No. 2 seed in the 1A West, hosted No. 3 Eastern Randolph in South’s first-ever appearance in the fourth round. The Saura faithful came out in droves on Tuesday to be a part of history.
After throwing haymakers for 31 minutes of game time, the Sauras and Wildcats entered the final 40 seconds tied 71-71. Eastern Randolph scored the game’s final three points to secure the victory.
“We knew coming into this that only one team could win it all,” said South Stokes coach Jason Clark. “The final eight – the four in the west and the four in the east – all had a shot to win it. It just comes down to who makes plays in the end, and they did.”
The Sauras (25-5) led by as many as 11 points in the second quarter, but a strong second half from the Wildcats’ Pierce Leonard closed the gap. Leonard led Eastern Randolph (28-2) with 21 points, 17 of which were scored in the second half.
“[Leonard] came out in the second half and hit some big shots,” Clark said. “We didn’t contain him, and he’s the one that hurt us.”
Neither team led by more than four in a fourth quarter that featured six lead changes and five ties. For comparison, the game had six lead changes and no ties through the first three quarters.
South’s three leading scorers – Barry Hairston Jr., Isiah Lash and Ethan Moran – combined for 14 points in the fourth quarter. The trio also scored all 10 of the Sauras’ third-quarter points.
The Wildcats’ Timothy Brewer, wearing No. 1, scored a layup with 5:34 left in the final quarter to put the visitors up 61-57, which tied for their largest lead of the night. The Sauras’ own No. 1, Hairston, responded by scoring the next field goal after grabbing an offensive rebound. Hairston stole the ball on Eastern Randolph’s next possession, then pulled down another offensive board and scored to tie the game at 61.
Hairston was South’s leader in both points and rebounds, finishing with a 25-point, 13-rebound double-double.
Moran hit two free throws to cap the 6-0 run, then Eastern Randolph when on its own 6-0 run. Hairston and Lash fought back to tie the game at 67 with 2:27 to play. Leonard followed up with two made free throws, followed by a Lash bucket set up by an assist from Larsen Gallimore. Lash repaid his teammate with an assist to Gallimore less than a minute later.
The Wildcats’ leading scorer on the season, DaVonte Brooks, scored 11 in the first half but had just two second-half points heading into the final minute. DaVonte was fouled on a made layup with 40 seconds on the clock, but missed his free throw only for it to be rebounded by fellow Wildcat Jani Norwood. Norwood was fouled and went to the line for the double bonus, but missed both free throws.
Eastern Randolph forced a turnover on South Stokes’ ensuing possession, then turned that into two points on the other end with less than 20 seconds to play. The Sauras missed two potential game-tying shots, then the Cats’ Julian Brooks came away with a rebound and was immediately fouled.
It was still a one-possession ballgame at 74-71 after Julian went 1-of-2 from the line. Moran missed a triple from the top of the key only for it to be rebounded by Lash, who put up his own 3-pointer that missed and went out-of-bounds off the Wildcats. Lash inbounded under the basket with 0.3 seconds on the clock and found Hairston in the corner, but the rushed shot missed the mark as time expired.
“We’re a better basketball team than they are, we just didn’t make some shots,” Clark said. “We had some good looks and fought hard. It’s nothing to be upset about.
“I know there’s a few kids that are going to come out and be upset because they think they had a big part of it (the loss), but they had a big part of us being here.”
Hairston led all scorers with 25, followed on his team by Lash with 16 and Moran with 15. Hairston also led the Sauras in rebounding with 13 boards, followed by Gallimore with seven, and Lash and Moran with four each.
Moran dished out a team-high five assists. Lash followed with four assists, while Hairston and Gallimore each had three. Moran set the pace in steals with three, followed by Gallimore and Brendon Bradford with two each. Lash had the Sauras’ only block.
History in the Making
Eastern Randolph is the only 1A team to defeat South Stokes this season, with South’s most recent 1A loss coming 367 days prior in the 2021-22 state playoffs. South’s four other losses this season came against: North Surry, who finished 27-2 and reached the third round of the 2A State Playoffs; East Forsyth, who finished 22-7 and reached the third round of the 4A State Playoffs; and West Forsyth, who finished 15-10 and qualified for the 4A State Playoffs.
The Sauras accumulated a combined record of 48-10 the past two seasons, during which the team won back-to-back regular season and conference tournament championships in the Northwest 1A Conference for the first time in program history.
“I’m proud of them. The seniors on these teams the past two or three years have won more games than anybody else in that span,” Clark said. “Back-to-back conference champs, tournament champs…they’ve touched more lives than they know during this process.
“I’m proud of each and every one of them.”
Scoring
(3) Eastern Randolph – 14, 22, 17, 21 = 74
(2) South Stokes – 23, 22, 10, 16 = 71
ER: Pierce Leonard 21, DaVonte Brooks 17, Timothy Brewer 12, Nicah Taylor 11, Jani Norwood 6, Julian Brooks 5, Connor Carter 3
SS: Barry Hairston Jr. 25, Isiah Lash 16, Ethan Moran 15, Jonah Fie 7, Brendon Bradford 6, Larsen Gallimore 2
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com