VALDOSTA — Stakes were high Saturday as some of the top high schools in the area battled on the court in the inaugural Titletown Tip-Off Classic.
While high-level basketball was played throughout the day, the hosting Valdosta Wildcats brought a close to the event in thrilling fashion.
The ‘Cats (1-0) held off a late rally by the Houston County Bears (1-2) and defended home court for a 53-50 victory.
It was the kind of start second-year head coach James Lee was looking for as Valdosta looks to improve on a 16-11 mark from a year ago.
“Getting off to that great start to the season, man, it was big for us,” Lee said. “We have a couple of big games coming up over the next couple of days. We play Chapel Hill on Monday and Warner Robins next Saturday. We definitely wanted to get the ball rolling and get ready to play those perennial powers. It was a great win for us.”
The ‘Cats got off to a slow start to open the game, finding themselves down 12-9 a couple of minutes into the game. However, Valdosta reeled off a 10-0 run to close the first quarter.
“The first quarter, we came out and executed well,” Lee said. “It was really the offensive attack for us. It was balanced inside and out, and that’s how we plan to play all season. Obviously, foul trouble got to us throughout the game, but the first was what we plan to look like up and down. … I think that first quarter is going to be peak Valdosta High basketball this year.”
The Bears battled back in the second quarter as Valdosta began to get into foul trouble and the turnovers began to mount. A double tech that was called on two players for each team proved to be a turning point for Houston County. The Bears outpaced the ‘Cats 12-6 in the second quarter to cut Valdosta’s lead to just one point.
Lee chalked up the tech to it being an emotional scene for the start of the season.
“It was the first game of the season. Emotions were high. Guys sometimes just get kind of worked up,” Lee said. “As far as the tech goes, it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. The guys just got to chirping a little bit. … I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that too much moving forward.”
Valdosta kicked the lead back out to five to start off the second half. Still, the Bears responded with a 6-0 run to take the lead.
Despite that, the ‘Cats carried a slim lead into the final frame as both teams went basket for basket. Junior point guard Jabarri Williams scored six of his 12 points in the quarter to help keep Valdosta’s offense afloat.
With the shots not falling throughout the night, Lee was pleased with the way his team stepped up on defense to prevent the Bears from taking control of the game.
“I’ve spoken before about the past couple of years. Defensively, we’ve been really, really good,” Lee said. “I’ve been excited about the offensive potential this team has, but to show that we still have that grit defensively to bear down and shut people down when necessary, it’s a great bright spot for me.”
With the teams tied at 41 early in the fourth quarter, the ‘Cats had another small scoring burst to take a six-point lead with just over five minutes to play.
That lead wound up being enough to prevail over the Bears. Though Houston County would respond, Valdosta was able to close out the game at the line, knocking down all six of their free throws in the fourth quarter.
Sophomore point guard Eric Love propelled the ‘Cats in crunch time. Love finished with a team-high 13 points, with seven of those points coming in the fourth quarter.
Lee knew the whole way that his team would be able to keep the Bears at bay.
“We played a very tough schedule last year for the purpose of being prepared for this season,” Lee said. “I don’t think it was anything that we didn’t see. This summer also helped us playing some very good competition. It put us in a lot of different positions and situations that there’s nothing that’s going to be a surprise.”
Lee added: “We’ve come from behind. We’ve been up and lost leads. This group is really prepared for any situation that may come up in the game. I was definitely proud of them being able to hold of the run that they made, fight against adversity and still come out with a win.”
Lady ‘Cats 59, Lady Bears 34
Though the Titletown Tip-Off Classic was primarily a showcase for some of the top boys basketball teams in the area, the Lady ‘Cats got to see the hardwood as part of a doubleheader with Houston County.
After both teams traded blows throughout the first half, the Lady ‘Cats (1-0) ran away from the Lady Bears (0-2) in the second half for a 59-34 win in their season opener.
Houston County jumped out to an early 6-3 lead before giving way to a 10-2 Valdosta run powered by senior Nadia Gardner. Gardner scored seven points in the first quarter and finished with a team-high 15 points.
The Lady Bears fought back, eventually making it a 24-23 game early in the third quarter after Jayla Holden knocked in a three.
It was all Valdosta from there.
The Lady ‘Cats closed the game on a scorching 35-11 run to send the Lady Bears packing. Freshman guard Meyuana Webb helped finish off Houston County with ten second-half points as part of a 12-point outing.
UP NEXT
The ‘Cats and Lady ‘Cats are both on lengthy trips away from Valdosta before they return home to face Tift County in a doubleheader on Dec. 2.
The boys, after facing Chapel Hill in the Peach State Explosion at Cedar Shoals on Monday, will face Cook in Adel on Nov. 24. Meanwhile, the girls will be in Jacksonville, Florida, for the Insider Exposure Thanksgiving Classic against Andrew Jackson High and Nease High before rejoining the boys against Cook.