Sports
Allatoona Boys Top Rival
Senior Will Grant's 16 points lead the Buccaneers past North Paulding in Lake City Classic Basketball Tournament opener.
Although the game wasn’t in doubt, junior Forrest Lane’s dunk with 50 seconds left provided the exclamation point Allatoona High School's boys basketball team used to celebrate a 50-31 victory over rival North Paulding late Wednesday night.
“It was a good relief,” Lane said of his slam. “It kind of sealed the deal and got the crowd pumped. (There was) a lot of energy in the gym.”
Boisterous fans from each team competed with each other utilizing spirited yells throughout the first-round Lake City Classic Basketball Tournament game.
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Allatoona fans frequently razzed North Paulding players when they would in-bound a pass in front of the spirited group of about 25 students, while the lively Wolfpack students heckled some of Allatoona’s cheers.
However, Allatoona’s contingent got the last dig as they chanted, “Thanks for practice!” in the waning seconds of the lopsided win.
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Senior guard Will Grant spurred the Buccaneers’ fast start with 12 of his team-high 16 points coming in the first half.
Allatoona (9-2) jumped on North Paulding quickly by vaulting out to a 21-9 lead with 3:30 left in the second quarter. They entered halftime holding a 33-13 advantage.
“We try to come out of the gate strong so we can crush their spirit,” Allatoona senior Austin Faulkner said. “And they’re one of our biggest rivals, so we were pumped to play them. We let off the pedal a little bit in the end, but a win is a win.”
The Wolfpack clawed back in the second half and pulled within 14 points with 5:23 remaining to force Allatoona to bring back in its starters. Senior forward Chris Kennard led the rally by scoring 12 of his game-high 19 points in the second half.
“We fought back, but couldn’t finish,” said North Paulding freshman Greg Benz, who finished with six points.
Allatoona plays unbeaten Carrollton (9-0) at 8:30 tonight in the semifinals. Carrollton topped Hillgrove 67-61 Wednesday.
The Wolfpack (4-8) lost earlier this afternoon, falling 77-33 to Hillgrove. North Paulding will play South Cobb (7-4) at 11:30 a.m. Friday.
South Cobb lost 63-58 to Alexander Wednesday and fell to Fairdale, KY, 68-62 Thursday.
