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Bulldog freshman Brandon Nelson (13) brings the ball up the court against Hephzibah in a 66-51 loss on Tuesday, Jan. 31. LANCE MCCURLEY/Staff
No. 4-seed Hephzibah defeated No. 5-seed Morgan County 76-65 in the first round of the Region 4-AAA tournament on Monday.
The Rebels (10-12) punched their ticket to the Class AAA state playoffs and will move on to the semifinals of the region tournament.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs' season came to an end under first-year head coach Cody Anderson. They completed their 2022-23 campaign with a 10-16 overall record.
Although he is disappointed with the result, Anderson acknowledged how hard his players fought in the loss to Hephzibah on Monday.
“We got down by 15 (points) at the end of the second quarter,” he said. “We were able to battle back and get within four several times throughout the second half, but just fell short. I give credit to coach Streetman (at Hephizbah) because he had his team ready to play.”
The Rebels were led in scoring by senior DeShaun Lewis with 20 points. He scored most of his points from beyond the arc, shooting 67 percent (4-of-6).
Sophomore Aamere Tolbert added 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Also, a trio of players, seniors Jalen Patrick and Eric Grant, with junior Tybraun Wilcox, each scored nine points apiece.
Morgan County seniors Harrison Peaster and Reggie Ross each scored 20 points in the loss. Fellow senior Ashton Brannon, who recently has taken on a more important role for the Bulldogs, added eight points, while freshman Brandon Nelson totaled seven points.
Anderson is thankful for the seniors, who faced a lot of adversity in his first year as head coach.
“I can’t say enough about this group,” Anderson said. “In your senior year, you’re supposed to know the culture already, but with me getting hired so late (in the summer), they had to adjust to my style of coaching, which isn’t an easy thing to do. I really appreciate them for helping lay the groundwork I am trying to build here (at Morgan County).”
The Bulldogs will lose seven seniors off the roster, despite two of them not finishing the year; however, they return several key pieces from this year’s squad heading into 2023-24.
Morgan County will have players such as Nelson, Jaylen Elder, Zeki Locus, and Jacoby Simmons, among others, come back next season with hopes of making the state playoffs.
Despite ending the season with a losing record, Anderson's squad had many positives this season, including beating rivals Social Circle and Putnam County. The Bulldogs were also highly competitive in many Region 4-AAA games, with hopes of winning it next season.
Anderson is excited to see what the future holds for Morgan County basketball.
“I am just excited to get a full offseason with the guys,” he said. “We will get back to work soon."