If you live in Eastman and were one of the many who packed Dodge County’s gym to standing room-only capacity on Saturday, you got your money’s worth and then some.
In the second round of the playoffs, the unranked Dodge County Indians upended the No. 5 Putnam County Warriors 85-82 in double-overtime, with regulation and both overtimes ending on 3-pointers, including Heaven Carson’s game-winner from the corner with 1 second left in the second overtime.
Carson’s shot propelled the Indians (23-3), a No. 1 seed from Region 1, into the quarterfinals for the first time since 2007. They’ll take a three-and-a-half-hour bus ride to play another unranked team, the Model Blue Devils (23-4), who are Region 7′s top seed.
Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday.
“People are still talking about it,” Indians first-year coach Cedric Jordan said. “The place was packed, there were no seats left. It’s been a long time since we’ve been to the Elite 8, and the fans didn’t want to leave. Thirty minutes to an hour later, people were still there celebrating. I’m from here, and what I wanted to do is bring the tradition back to when I played here, and I think it’s back now.”
Jordan won a region championship with the Indians in 1993, his senior year, and played at Middle Georgia State under Scott Moe, who later hired Jordan as an assistant on the Knights’ staff. He returned to Dodge County and was an assistant on the Indians’ girls basketball team for two years before taking his first head coaching gig this season.
The results have been immediate. Last season the Indians went 14-14, including 4-8 in Region 3-2A, and were bounced in the first round, though they ended a three-year playoff drought.
What makes the Indians’ record this season more impressive is they started 0-2, with non-region losses to Northside (69-54) and Dublin (57-55), teams they would later beat in rematches as part of their current 23-1 run. Their last loss was 56-51 to Sumter County, a team they’d go onto to beat twice, including in the Region 1 championship.
The Indians’ 60-41 win over Rutland in the first round marked their first playoff win since 2013.
On Saturday, advancing any further looked grim at times, especially at the end of regulation. With the Indians trailing by three, Jaedon McClendon came off a screen and hit a pull-up 3-pointer with 1 second left to send it to the first overtime.
“I was surprised they didn’t foul,” Jordan said of Putnam County.
A foul would have put the Indians at the free-throw line, preventing them from attempting a potential game-tying 3.
The Indians were leading by three in the first overtime when one of 2A’s top players, Putnam County’s Erin Banks, hit a long 3 from just inside half court as the buzzer sounded, sending the game to a second overtime.
“I should’ve fouled,” Jordan said. “I was probably thinking the same thing (the Warriors) were at the end of the fourth quarter. I didn’t think they would have a good look, and sure enough he got all the way to about two steps in front of half court and drilled it.”
The Indians would live to tell about it, and now they’re trying to top their best finish since reaching the title game in 2007, which would mean winning their first championship since their only one, which came in 1995.
Jordan said he’s not concerned that Saturday’s game was too physically or emotionally taxing on the team.
“After the game, before I could even say anything about it, the guys were already regrouping and saying this game was over, and it’s time to get ready for Model,” he said. “That’s what makes me so proud of them. It’s hard to get them rattled. They’re always focused.”
The Indians took Region 1 by storm this season, going 11-1 against league competition and sweeping the 1-2A regular season awards, with Jordan earning coach of the year, McClendon winning offensive player of the year and Duke Johnson winning defensive player of the year.
Their top three scorers, Carson (15 points a game), McClendon (14) and William Jordan (13), are all juniors. Johnson, who stands at 6-foot-6, is a sophomore averaging seven points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. Senior Lamarie Mitchell, a 1-2A second-teamer, averages eight points.
Despite their success, the Indians entered the playoffs unranked and, thus, they entered the playoffs setting out to prove to the rest of the state that they belong in the championship discussion.
“I told the guys when I first got this job, this is a school no one respects,” Jordan said. “If you want to win and be respected, you have to play with a chip on your shoulder. We started winning, and some of the teams we were beating were still ranked ahead of us. They said, ‘Coach, they still don’t respect us.’”
That mentality will surely carry over against the Blue Devils this week.
“Model is a tough team,” Jordan said. “We’re going to have to play really great defense, especially inside on their bigs. We’ll just keep playing with a chip on our shoulder, and may the best team win.”
For all Round 2 scores, check the updated boys and girls brackets on GHSA.net.
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