G.W. Danville Ends Fleming Season In Epic 44-42 Battle

Fleming ball handler Steven Jones looks to escape a double-team by the GW defense Friday night as Danville ended the Colonels' season with a 44-42 Conference 24 semifinal win.
Fleming ball handler Steven Jones looks to escape a double-team by the GW defense Friday night as Danville ended the Colonels’ season with a 44-42 Conference 24 semifinal win.

Although they were on opposite benches Friday night in the William Fleming gym, Colonel head coach Mickey Hardy and G.W. Danville head coach Ron Parson agreed on one key matter.

This was a championship caliber basketball game.

In the end, Eagles’ Khajuan Watkins stole a Fleming pass near midcourt and sailed in for a layup with less than a minute remaining, breaking a 42-42 tie and sending G.W. to the 44-42 win in the 4A Conference 24 semifinal.

The conference bracket setup ended the season for William Fleming, while G.W. advanced to play E.C. Glass, the #1-seed, where both teams will automatically advance to regional play.

“This was a championship game,” Parson said while still sitting on the G.W. bench long after the final buzzer. “Both teams played well and it was a battle all night. It’s a shame one had to lose.”

Hardy agreed.

“It was a good ball game. We had only two losses heading into the game, E.C. Glass had two losses, but we were seeded second.”

Hardy was heaping praise on his squad outside an understandably emotional Colonel locker room.

“Not a lot of teams get to win 21 games,” Hardy pointed out. “I’m glad I had the opportunity to coach these guys. They’re a great group, with great character. I couldn’t ask for a better group of guys. I loved being around them.”

Things started slowly for both teams in the packed Fleming gym.

Defense ruled for the first two quarters that saw shots clang off the rim, roll off the rim and even one get stuck on the rim.

“i think everyone was just pumped up,” Parson said of the 16-16 halftime score. “It was a dog fight.”

G.W. led 21-19 with 3:27 left in the third quarter when Fleming senior standout Warren Craft started what looked to be a personal beatdown on the Eagles. Craft went coast-to-coast on a driving score, followed with a behind-the-back layup and finished a 7-0 run by hitting three free throws over two possessions. That gave the Colonels a 26-21 lead and turned the Fleming gym into wild pandemonium.

“Craft is warrior,” Hardy noted of the run. “He stepped up to the plate.”

Craft, the defensive guru on the edges for Fleming, went to the bench for a much-needed breather and G.W. guard Tamario Rodgers immediately found space on the next possession, burying a 3-pointer to cut the Eagle deficit to 26-24.

Colonel Tyrell Adams hit from long range, and Eagle Isaiah Bethel scored on a breakaway, before Adams hit from NBA-range at the buzzer to send the teams to the final quarter with Fleming up 32-26.

G.W. wasted no time squaring the event, keyed by six straight points by Rodgers, including a rare 4-point play off a bomb and foul on the shot.

The Eagles regained the lead, but Craft tied things at 40 with 2:46 left. The game was still tied at 42, leading to Watkins’ heroics.

Down 44-42, Fleming called timeout with :16.2 left. The Colonels turned the ball over on the inbounds pass and fouled Rodgers, who missed the front end of the one-and-one. But, a last second desperation heave by Fleming was far wide at the final buzzer.

“We made runs, they made runs, then they made a run at the end,” Hardy added. “We had a play set at the end but they changed defenses. Then, we turned it over. We had the opportunity to win.”

Craft finished with a game-high 15 points for the Colonels, while Adams followed by netting 11.

Watkins paced G.W. with 12 points, while Amardius Jones poured in 10 for the Eagles.

Bill Turner

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