Last-second stop sends 'Cats to Sweet Sixteen

Feb. 23—VALDOSTA — In their state playoff opener, the Valdosta Wildcats (16-10) and Campbell Spartans (17-12) went down to the final play.

Up by one with 16.2 seconds left, Valdosta senior guard James Siplen missed the front end of the one-and-one — leaving the door open for the Spartans to steal the game.

The Spartans rebounded and worked the ball around before it found the hands of junior wing David Clark, who rose up for the potential game-winning 3-pointer.

The shot looked good leaving Clark's hands, but the outstretched arms of senior Ajaye Felton forced the miss as time expired — giving Valdosta the 61-60 victory Wednesday night to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

"All week, we knew 0 (Clark) was really tough," Valdosta head coach James Lee said. "I cannot say how great of a job Ajaye did tonight. He took the big role of guarding the best player. (Clark) had him by a couple of inches and just that grit and that tenacity he's had all season defensively, it changed the game for us. Hats off to him — he does a lot of things that don't show up in the stat sheet that are unsung but without him and that defensive effort he gives us night in and night out, we aren't the team we are. He really set the tone defensively for us tonight."

Valdosta led 59-55 with 1:14 left as Siplen split a pair at the line, but Campbell kept the pressure on as Clark got inside for a difficult jump hook to make it a two-point game with 1 minute remaining.

DJ Berry attacked the middle of the floor from near the top of the key and knocked down a tough driving bank shot in the paint to put Valdosta in front 61-57 with under 30 seconds to play.

Clark once again came through for the Spartans as he buried a high-arcing 3-pointer from the left wing to make it a 61-60 game with 18 seconds to play — setting up the dramatic final possession.

Valdosta's lead appeared comfortable heading into the fourth as close-fisted defense, aggressive offense and timely offensive rebounding led to a 50-39 advantage through three quarters.

"That's been the story of us all year. All the big games we've won have been based off paint touches. That's one of the things we really wanted to harp on, especially coming off the region tournament," Lee said. "We had to get back to our bread and butter — the things that won us those big games earlier in the year; Tift, Westover earlier in the year. We did a great job tonight.

"Like I told them, that's been our culture for the past four years — guard penetration. Nobody can guard our guards and I believe that when it comes to anybody. We feel like we have some of the best guards in the state year in and year out and tonight they showed it."

A three-point play by Berry put Valdosta ahead 55-41 with 6:33 left in the game — Valdosta's largest lead of the night.

The Spartans responded with a 3-point play that keyed a 14-3 spurt capped off by a 3 from Clark to cut the lead down to three at 58-55 with 1:40 left.

Momentum went firmly behind the Spartans as Felton got free on the ensuing possession, but missed the wide open layup and the 'Cats were whistled for a loose ball foul with 1:32 left.

"We preach mental toughness every single day," Lee said. "You create mental toughness moving on to the next play. It's tough sometimes but that's what big time players have to do is have a short memory. With James, if I'm gonna put anybody at the line at the end of the game, it's gonna be him. A senior, he stepped up. ... Fighting through adversity has been our theme all year."

The 'Cats built a double-digit lead in the first half as well as a 3-pointer by Jason King, a layup from Berry and an offensive rebound putback by big man Israel Jenrette put Valdosta ahead 28-16 with 4:16 left in the first half.

The Spartans, as they proved until the very end, played exceptional from behind as they closed the half on a 9-4 run to trail 32-25 at the half.

Berry scored 17 points to lead Valdosta. Siplen poured in 16 while the 6-10 Jenrette dominated the offensive glass en route to a 14-point effort.

Clark scored 21 points for the Spartans in the loss. Fe'Royre High also had the hot hand with 16 points and four 3-pointers in the game.

UP NEXT

Valdosta will face Grayson (22-5) in the Sweet Sixteen. The Rams defeated Marietta 99-56 Wednesday night.

The Rams enter the Sweet Sixteen winners of nine straight. The 99 points the Rams scored Wednesday set a new season-high.

"We're excited. When I took this job, this was one of the things I looked forward to," Lee said. "We're playing in 7A. 7A basketball in Georgia is some of the best basketball in the country, so we want to be one of those elite programs in the state. I want to get a true measure of where our program is, where our program is going. Like we talked about earlier in the year with that tough tournament schedule we played, I really want to make sure we can look those giants, those traditional powerhouses eye-to-eye because that's where we want to be.

"Grayson is traditionally a power in the state but we play a brand of basketball we know guys in Atlanta aren't used to. We're gonna be gritty. We're gonna be tenacious. We're gonna push the tempo. We're gonna play defense, dive on the floor and do all the nasty, dirty things that those big time programs don't like to do. ... We feel like we're prepared for the moment and I'm looking forward to it."

Shane Thomas is the sports editor at the Valdosta Daily Times.