MORGAN COUNTY
Morgan County’s boys basketball team fell to Harlem in overtime Monday in the first round of the region tournament.
The Bulldogs of Columbia County topped Morgan County’s Dogs 56-52 in a close battle to the end. The loss ended Morgan County’s hopes of reaching state playoffs as it missed the postseason for a fifth-straight year.
Morgan County head coach Cody Anderson was disappointed with the result against Harlem.
“I’m sad that we lost,” he said. “My heart also hurts that I won’t get to coach Ryan (Moore), Jamauri (Evans), or Jae (Benford) again.”
Morgan County had a chance to win the game with 6.2 seconds left at the end of regulation, but a turnover on the inbounds pass gave Harlem the ball. With the score tied 49-49, the Bulldogs couldn’t get a shot off, either, which sent the game to overtime. The extra period is when Harlem’s stamina got the win.
Neither team scored in the first two minutes of overtime before Harlem went on a quick 5-0 run to take a 54-49 lead.
A made free throw by senior Ryan Moore and a contested layup from junior Jaylen Elder got Morgan County back into contention, with Harlem leading 54-52 with under a minute left.
The Dogs fouled fast, though, sending Harlem to the foul line where it missed both free throws. However, the Bulldogs grabbed the offensive rebound off the second miss, and Morgan County had to foul again quickly.
This second time, Harlem’s B.J. Reese sealed the game with two good free throws with under 10 seconds left.
Anderson took the blame for Monday’s loss. He said he should’ve drawn up a better play at the end of the game.
“I let our players down,” he said. “With 6.2 seconds left in the ball game. The ball was up underneath our basket, and it was a tie game. We couldn’t get a shot at the rim. But I’m so, so proud. That’s on me, though.”
Anderson’s squad led Harlem for most of the night. At the end of the first quarter, Morgan County was up 12-10 as Elder and sophomore Zeki Locus powered the offense. The duo continued to hit some big-time shots in the next period, helping the Dogs hold a 23-20 advantage at the half.
Morgan County kept grinding in the third quarter. The Dogs led by seven points at the 3:55 mark of the third period before Harlem made a late push, but Morgan County still led 38-37 after three quarters.
A few minutes into the fourth, Locus drove the lane and hit a contested layup, putting his team up 43-40. Harlem then responded with a swift 9-1 run as Reese and fellow senior Lamar Edmond scored all the points.
The Bulldogs led 49-44 when Morgan County kicked it back into gear with under four minutes left. Evans got the Dogs back into the game as he scored five straight points on consecutive possessions to tie it up at 49- 49.
However, it just wasn’t meant to be as Morgan County could not convert at the end of regulation and its offense ran out of gas in overtime.
Elder and Evans scored a team-high 15 points, followed by Locus with 10. Moore added nine points as well.
Despite losing three seniors, seeing Elder and Locus shine as underclassmen makes Anderson hopeful for the program’s future.
“I’m excited with what is coming back (next season). We’ve got some underclassmen that got valuable experience this year,” Anderson said. “It’s going to pay dividends for years to come.”
Morgan returns most of its lineup next season, but Anderson said he remains appreciative of what his seniors did this year. Evans, Moore, and Benford will be remembered for their leadership and contributions this season for the Dogs, he said.
“I’m proud of the effort. We battled and we fought. We did some good things tonight,” Anderson said. “But it’s disappointing when you go into the locker room and you know it’s the last time you’re going to address this year’s team. I’m very appreciative of Ryan, Jamauri, and Jae for all that they’ve done for Morgan basketball.”