Thursday March 28th, 2024 8:59AM

Playoff basketball: Miller Grove's second-half surge ends Wolves' dreams of repeat

BUFORD — Buford boys basketball coach Eddie Martin knew well the perils of facing serial state champ Miller Grove in the second round of the state playoffs.

"I knew it'd be a battle to the end -- they are not your typical three seed," Martin said of a Wolverines program that claimed seven state championships over the previous nine seasons. 

With Thursday's game in the balance, the visitors once again flexed their championship credentials, as Lorenzo Anderson boxed out two Buford defenders, drew a foul and sank the clinching free throws in a 79-75 victory that halted Buford's dreams of beginning its own dynasty.

"They had one guy in the lane, and we didn't box out," said Martin, who led Buford to its first and only boys state championship last season. "I hate it for our seniors, but there's only one team that can win this thing. It takes talent, a lot of luck, and, sometimes, the ball just doesn't bounce your way. Our kids played hard tonight. We didn't have our 'A' game, but you also have to credit Miller Grove. They played really well tonight."

The Wolverines (20-7) absorbed a number of Wolves (24-5) body blows in the first half but stayed within striking distance thanks to Maurice Harvey's scoring and the gritty inside efforts of Kevin Paige and Jermon Clark. Harvey finished with a game-high 29 points, while Paige grabbed 8 rebounds and Clark 7. 

"We knew that if we didn't keep them off the glass -- which we didn't do a very good job of in the first half -- that we would have a hard time," said Martin, whose Wolves were out-rebounded 26-19, including nine offensive rebounds for Miller Grove in the first half.

And once the Wolverines found their shooting touch the visitors charged in front with a 20-5 third-quarter run -- including 3-pointers from Harvey and Timothy Stargell -- and stretched their advantage to 66-56 with 3:10 remaining. 

Momentarily stunned, Buford regained its balance thanks to Donnell Nixon and Marcus Watson, as the duo combined for 22 points in the fourth quarter, including 13 from Nixon (all of his scoring for the game). Their five made 3-pointers combined -- three from Nixon -- hauled Buford within 77-75 with just over :05 remaining, Nixon's final trey pushing the game to a knife edge. Buford immediately fouled Paige, who missed both free throws, but Anderson reacted first to the second miss, drawing a foul and then draining both of his free throws to seal the contest.

Watson finished with 26 points, 16 of that in the first half. Alex Jones added 12 and Jonathan Miles scored nine and grabbed 5 rebounds. 

"We gambled too much defensively tonight, and they were able to get to the rim and make some easy buckets," Martin said. "We also took some quick shots we really didn't need to take."

Buford proved the more settled offensive team in the first half but still could not find a way to build a comfortable lead thanks to Paige's and Clark's work inside. The two teams battled to a 17-17 first quarter stalemate -- Miller Grove ripping down 12 first quarter rebounds, including seven offensive boards. Yet the Wolves responded with increased inside efforts from Miles and Ashton Young in the second quarter, and it helped pay off with a 38-31 halftime lead, as Watson scored eight straight points.

That advantage increased to 41-33 immediately after the interval as Jones completed a three-point play. But it proved Buford's high-water mark, as Harvey took center stage with 13 third quarter points -- his final output almost 15 points above his season scoring average. Meanwhile, the Wolves offense went dormant, managing just 10 third-quarter points.

"I never feel like we're out of it because I feel like we've got too many good shooters for that, but we have to get stops. And we didn't get them in the third quarter," Martin said. "That was the difference in the game."

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