MACON — It was a simple breakdown for Buford coach Benjie Wood.
“You have to make shots and we had a tough shooting night,” Wood said after watching his Wolves drop a tough 66-59 decision to Grovetown in the Class 6A finals at The Macon Centreplex Friday night.
“They had a kid (EJ Kency) come off the bench that we knew was a shooter and he went 3-for-3. But we also had some good looks and they just didn’t go in. That’s the way the ball bounces sometimes.”
It was the first-ever state title for Grovetown (29-3). The Wolves (25-7) were looking for their third title since 2017.
In what had become their signature during the 2022 playoffs, the Wolves fell behind early and then rallied late. That had worked in the previous two rounds where they came from behind to beat both Carrollton and Sequoyah to get into the championship game.
This time, Buford trailed 32-19 at halftime after Grovetown went on a 20-7 run behind Frankquon Sherman to end the half. The Wolves stormed out of the locker room and opened the third quarter with a 24-11 explosion, shooting 60 percent in the process to tie the game at 43.
Alahn Sumler poured in 12 points and Jaylon Taylor added 5 during the run for Buford after scoring just 8 total points in the first half.
“We came out and tried to increase our intensity on defense and we got back into it. I was extremely proud of my guys and how they fought back. They never quit,” Wood said.
And this time, they ran out of gas against the Warriors in the fourth.
Grovetown scored the final four points of the third and extended the run into the fourth quarter for a 54-45 lead with 4:49 left. The Wolves, as had been their battle-cry, answered back one last time pulling within 61-59 on a London Williams basket with 27 seconds left.
Sherman, however, scored 12 of his 23 points in the final six minutes, including an emphatic dunk, his third of the game, on the final play.
Buford opened the game with a 5-0 run on a 3-pointer from Malachi Brown and a drive by Sumler in the opening minute.
It was almost all Grovetown from there the rest of the half. The Warriors answered that opening spurt with a 12-1 run for 12-6 lead before the Wolves closed out the period with a 6-0 run behind two inside baskets from Williams to end the quarter tied at 12.
Kency then put on a show for Grovetown. The junior hit three consecutive 3-pointers over a two minute span to spark a 16-2 run that ended with a Markel Freeman layup and a 28-14 lead.
Sumler would answer with a 3-pointer for Buford to cut it to 28-17 but that would be the Wolves final basket of the half as Grovetown took a 32-19 lead into the break.
The Buford offense just could not find any momentum in the opening 16 minutes. The Wolves were just 6-of-24 from the field and struggled at the free throw line as well hitting just 5-of-12 in the first half.
The Warriors were balanced with four players with 6 or more points, led by Kency.
Sumler finished with 17 points to pace Buford. Brown had 15 points and 4 assists, Williams had 11 points and 6 rebounds, and Tyalor had 8 points and 8 rebounds for the Wolves.
Sherman also pulled down 13 boards for Grovetown and Derrien Reid had 11 points for the Warriors.
Despite the tough ending, Wood said the seniors have helped lay the foundation for what they hope will be more future trips to Macon.
“I told our seniors, new coach coming in, new system, and I’m not always the easiest coach to play for, I’m proud of them for laying the foundation for the future of Buford basketball,” Wood said.
