Valdosta edges rival Coffee in nail-biting finishes

Dec. 1—VALDOSTA — It wasn't pretty, but a win is a win.

The Valdosta Wildcats pulled out a nail-biter against the rival Coffee Trojans 57-56 Tuesday night.

'Cats sophomore Jabarri Williams split a pair at the line to put Valdosta ahead 57-55 with 16.3 seconds left. Though Berry swooped in for the offensive rebound, the ball slipped out of his hands as he exploded for the potential putback with 8.3 seconds left.

Out of a timeout, the Trojans had a chance to force overtime with junior Tyriq Edwards drawing a foul to head to the line with 2.3 seconds left. Edwards sank the first shot, but clanked the second. 'Cats center Israel Jenrette missed the one-and-one, but the Trojans were unable to get off a desperation heave as time expired.

A long 3-pointer by Keshawn Floyd gave Valdosta its largest lead of the night at 32-20 with under 3 minutes left in the first half. Coffee responded with a 6-1 spurt to pull within seven, 33-26 at the half.

An 8-0 run by Coffee cut the lead to 33-30, but Valdosta's DJ Berry got the ball off a turnover by the Trojans and Euro-stepped around his defender for a nifty layup to stop the run.

Back-to-back hoops by Ajaye Felton opened up a 39-33 lead for Valdosta, but Coffee refused to go away as a steal and pull-up jumper by Jy'Dairus Odums keyed a 7-0 run capped by a layup from Marquavius Bussey to give Coffee a 40-39 lead late in the third quarter.

A layup and a dunk by senior big man Percy Chastang put Valdosta back in front 43-40 with 1:51 left in the third, but Coffee scored on back-to-back turnovers By Valdosta as Edwards and Benson converted easy layups to take a 44-43 lead into the fourth.

Controversy came about late in the fourth with Coffee leading 55-51 with 2:50 to play. A 3-pointer by Valdosta senior Cameron Jackson cut it to 55-54 with 2:40 to play before the game clock went off for several minutes. Following the lengthy delay, Jackson's basket — which looked to be a 3-pointer as Jackson's feet appeared to be well behind the 3-point arc — was ruled a two-point field goal to change the score to 55-53 Coffee.

After Felton split free throws with 36 seconds left, a turnover by the Trojans bled to free throws for James Siplen with 32.9 remaining. Siplen buried both shots to pull Valdosta within one, 56-55. Another turnover by the Trojans led to the aforementioned go-ahead free throw by Williams.

DJ Berry led the 'Cats with 14 points in the win. Junitho Benson poured in a game-high 16 points with seven rebounds and two steals for the Trojans, who shot just 29% from the floor and 2 of 15 from 3-point range in the loss.

VALDOSTA GIRLS 50, COFFEE GIRLS 49 (OT)

In the opener, the Valdosta Lady 'Cats edged Coffee 50-49 in overtime.

An offensive rebound and putback by Jamaria Harvey cut it to 50-49 with 27.8 seconds remaining, forcing Valdosta to call timeout.

Out of the timeout, the Lady 'Cats threw it away as senior guard Denver Arnold overthrew a teammate camped out in front of the Valdosta bench with 21.8 seconds remaining.

Coffee worked the clock down and had the ball deflected out of bounds with 5.1 seconds left, but on the ensuing possession, they got two shots at the rim but couldn't make the winning basket as time expired.

Arnold's fifth 3-pointer of the night made all the difference as the Lady 'Cats outscored the Lady Trojans 3-2 in the extra period.

Arnold poured in a career-high 25 points on 9 of 19 shooting, including a blistering 5 of 8 from beyond the arc, along with four rebounds and three steals in the win.

Playing without star center Essence Cody, who sat out with an ankle injury, the Lady 'Cats got a lift from junior forward Aniyah Bradfield Tuesday night.

Bradfield posted her third double-double of the season with 11 points and 13 rebounds as well as five blocks and five steals.

Valdosta led 23-13 early for their largest lead of the contest. Coffee responded by outscoring Valdosta 11-5 to pull within four points at halftime.

An offensive rebound and putback by Valdosta's Jamya Evans made it 47-44 with 1:46 left. On the next possession, Bradfield swatted away a layup attempt by Coffee freshman Paris Riley, but the ball found the hands of Harvey, who drew a foul going up for a shot. Harvey split the pair with 1:01 remaining in regulation.

After pulling within one on a couple of occasions in the second half, Coffee managed to tie the game in the fourth as Harvey answered a missed 3 by Arnold with a layup to even the game at 47 with 36 seconds left in regulation.

Valdosta escaped with the win despite shooting 32% from the floor, 4 of 16 from the free throw line and committing 31 turnovers in the game. Arnold finished the game with 10 of the team's giveaways.

Defensively, Valdosta came away with 19 steals and nine blocked shots.

Lexie Bradford led Coffee with 14 points, making all six of her free throw attempts in the contest. Jamaria Harvey added 13 points while Tyrianna Woodgett chipped in with 10 points in the loss.

UP NEXT

Valdosta hosts Westover Friday night. The girls game is scheduled for 6 p.m., followed by the boys game at 7:30 p.m.

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