Elba defeats Gamecocks for area tournament title

Despite a furious New Brockton rally in the third quarter, the Elba boys basketball team took the Class 2A, Area 4 tournament title Feb. 10 with a 65-51 win.

The Gamecocks trailed 34-20 at the half, but warmed up in the third frame.

"I went in (the locker room at halftime), and I didn't raise my voice," NBHS basketball coach Anthony Carter said. "We haven't beaten Elba. I've been at New Brockton three years. I'm 0-8, and I challenged the seniors once again that they had to be the leaders. They haven't beaten them, either. I said, 'The bottom line is we've got to go out here and play.' They responded."  

New Brockton opened the second half on an 8-0 run, thanks in part to 3-pointers from Jyshan Nelson and Caleb Griffin.

After Elba made a shot, the Gamecocks started another 8-0 run, which included another 3 from Nelson, and tied the game 36-36 on a pair of Taylor Nix-Carter free throws.

"To a certain degree, we started rebounding the ball better," Anthony Carter said. "I think that was the key in the third quarter."

The teams traded four-point runs to tie things 40-40 before the Tigers pulled ahead with six consecutive points, four of which came from free throws after a technical foul.

New Brockton eventually narrowed the gap to 49-44 at the end of the third quarter.

The Gamecocks cut their deficit to three points before Elba went on a 10-0 run to take a 59-46 lead

Nelson hit a pair of free throws and Russell Weeks buried a 3 to pull NBHS within 59-51, but the Tigers finished the game on a 6-0 run.

The championship also started well for Elba.

The Tigers started the game on a 9-2 run, which was ended with a 3-pointer from D.T. Adams.

The shot started a 6-0 Gamecock run to tie the game 9-9, but Elba scored the next four points to finish the first quarter with a 13-9 lead.

Turnovers plagued NBHS early, and Anthony Carter said they played a big role in the outcome of the game.

"I told my guys I really felt like if we could limit ourselves to 10 turnovers for the whole game and shoot 65 percent from the field, we'd win by five," he said. "We had seven turnovers at halftime. I don't know what we finished with, but turnovers truly were the deciding factor in this basketball game. That goes to say Elba played pretty good defense. They forced us to turn the ball over. Once we started taking better care of the basketball in that third quarter, we saw some success."

The Tigers widened the lead with a 3 early in the second before Max Weeks knocked down a pair of free throws.

He later hit a shot from behind the arc to pull NBHS to within 19-16 before the Tigers went on an 8-0 run.

Adams stopped the streak with a bucket, but Elba ended the second quarter on a 7-2 run to take a 34-20 lead at the break and set the stage for the Gamecocks' rally.

"I was very proud of the effort," Carter said. "They came out and they didn't quit. The final score really doesn't tell the story. I'm just proud of the effort and the way the guys played. They didn't quit. I'm just very proud of them."

Adams led NBHS with 13 points, and Nelson followed with 12. Max Weeks had 11, and Isaiah Donaldson scored six.

Russell Weeks, Nix-Carter and Griffin finished with three points each.

Max Weeks, Nelson and Adams were selected to the all-tournament team.

New Brockton will face Abbeville or Barbour County Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. on the road in the sub-regional round.

"We've got to limit them to one shot, and we've got to take care of the basketball," Anthony Carter said. "Barbour County's got a really good post player. Abbeville's not necessarily that big, but they shoot the ball well and they're very active. We've got to take care of the basketball. We've got to make our free throws and play with some discipline. We've got to play hard from start to finish."