The final score doesn't reflect it, but No. 2 Pace Academy had to grind out a 61-51 win over No. 3 Crawford County on Saturday at Georgia College to advance to the state finals.
Now, the Knights (20-9), a No. 1 seed from Region 6, are just a win away from the program's first state title. They'll play No. 5 Manchester - a No. 1 seed from Region 5 - on March 4 at 4:45 p.m. at the Macon Centerplex.
The Eagles (24-6) - Region 4's top seed - failed to reach the title game for a second year in a row after finishing runner-up last season.
Isaiah Kelly, who led all scorers with 21 points and added 10 rebounds, said it was holiday tournaments at the beginning of the season that prepared them for the Eagles game, which came on the back end of back-to-backs. The day before, they beat No. 1 Thomasville 75-48.
"That's why we went to so many tournaments toward the beginning of the year," said Kelly, a sophomore forward. "We know what it feels like to play back-to-back games and have our bodies be tired."
William Jarrell hit a deep 3 as the first half expired to give Crawford County a 25-24 lead and Marcal Knolton's basket to open the third quarter's scoring gave the Eagles their largest lead. But Pace went on a 9-0 run capped by Barrett Baker's 3 to take a 33-27 lead.
The Knights never trailed again.
Wendall Carter (12 points, 10 rebounds) opened the fourth quarter with a basket to give the Knights a 48-38 lead. With just over three minutes remaining, he grabbed a defensive rebound and threw a cross-court pass to Kelly, who caught it in stride and proceeded to dunk, giving the Knights a 56-46 lead and effectively sealing the game.
"The mindset is to be better than we were yesterday," Knights coach Demetrius Smith said. "We want to be better than we were our last time out in practice and everything we do as a team. I think they're focused.
"They came into today relaxed and we just tried to do what we do."
Crawford County was led by Knolton (12 points) and Jarrell (11).
Stan Awtrey
Stan Awtrey
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