2/21/07

Dominion vs. Tattnall at States
by Aaron Nix

This past Thursday, the Knights boys basketball team went into Macon for a third time. However, this time was especially important. The Knights had made it to where they had hoped to be all year: the state tournament. The Knights went into Tattnall as the fourth place team, with Tattnall leading all other GISA school teams in Macon.

The home team, known for a fast paced offense led by Junior and future college prospect, #2 Smelter, proved to be formidable opponent to a struggling Knights offense. Accompanied with a strong, hard-fast defense led by the #2 and #10 PG-C combo, the Trojans boast a formidable force on both sides of the court.

The Knights run a quick half-court offense and great fast break offense, as well. This offense- led by a consistent 3-guard combination in PG Wright, SG Atalla, and SF Smith- proves to be a force to be reckoned with by all teams in the GISA. These three combine for 29 points per game out of the 59 points the team averages per game overall.

The game started off heading in the Knights favor. The Knights went off to a quick 6-0 run in the first 2 minutes. As the game progressed, the Knights ended the quarter with a quiet 1-9 lead over TSA.

The second quarter, the Trojans turned up the heat.  #2 Smelter racked up 10 points in less than 2 minutes, sending the Knights into a -6 drag behind the home team. The Knights went into halftime with a lot more work to do in the second half.

The third quarter started and ended with a 18-9 lead for the Trojans, as TSA's starting C knocked down 4 3-pt shots in the middle of the period.

With the Knights being down 13 at the start of the quarter, the Knights had some work to do. The Knights managed to bring their lead down to 8 at one point. However, there was a little under two minutes left to play and the crowd played a monumental, nearly deafening part. The game was too far out of reach and the Knights would have to settle for a loss in the State tournament.

The Knights played great basketball all season. This is magnified by the fact that the Knights were 4-22 only 2 seasons ago. This year Dominion finished 16-12 overall and made it to the State tournament for the first time since '04. Though this is not exactly where Coach Gold and his team desired to end their season, there was plenty of things they have to be proud of. With only 3 graduating seniors, the Knights show much promise for the '08-'09 season.