The Trojans battled throughout at Cedartown -- trimming a 19-point deficit to one point in the fourth quarter -- but couldn't find the killer shot as time expired, eventually falling 54-50.
The loss ends the season for North Hall (21-9).
"We missed two good looks at a 3-pointer that would have sent it to overtime," Trojans coach Benjie Wood said. "But I'm very proud of those kids. They fought hard all night."
Ethan Satterfield led the Trojans with 13 points. Chris Barnes added 11.
Cedartown's Brandon Brown had 15 points. Teammates Dion Smith and Dewayne Jupiter added 14 and 13 points, respectively.
The home-standing Bulldogs pulled ahead early and led by eight points at the half but, despite cold shooting from the visitors, couldn't shake the Trojans.
Cedartown did appear to seal the game in third quarter, however, pulling ahead by 19 points with three minutes left in the period. But the deficit sparked North Hall, which stormed back to within a point with 1:30 remaining. Yet the Trojans couldn't pull ahead, as the Bulldogs held on for the win.
"Hopefully this will set the stage for bigger and better things," said Wood, whose team features just three seniors. "We played in a hostile environment tonight, and I thought it did affect the kids. But until you've played in those situations, you don't know how to react to them.
"Next year, we'll know how to handle these situations."
Despite losing just three players, Wood says the Trojans will have a lot to replace, however.
"We'll have huge shoes to fill in the leadership department with Ethan Satterfield leaving," Wood said. "I can't put into words how much fun it was to coach our seniors this year."
North Hall's Chris Barnes in a game earlier this season.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2009/3/218349