Columbus girls grab big win, boys fall just short versus Valley

It was an up-and-down morning for the Columbus High basketball teams in the Muscogee County School District Tip-off Classic Saturday.

Columbus’ teams went 1-1 in the day’s action against Valley. The Lady Blue Devils opened play with a 66-31 victory, while the Blue Devils kept it close but lost 67-63.

“We did better than we did (Friday) against Spencer, but we’ve still got a long way to go,” Columbus girls coach Joe Cherrone said. “We’ve got a young group with five new starters. “We’re a young group, and we’re trying to work out all the kinks early before we get into region play.”

The Lady Blue Devils (2-0) left the Lady Rams in a hole early, jumping out to a 23-8 lead in a first quarter that saw Nasya Williams drill a buzzer-beater. Columbus kept up the pace in the second quarter, outscoring Valley 16-7 and making it apparent it was in total control.

Kayla Walker led Columbus in scoring with 17 points. She also had a team-high eight rebounds in the game.

A major part of Columbus’ smothering style of play was their defensive presence. They forced an undersized Valley team to force the issue repeatedly, which led to turnovers and opened the door for the Lady Blue Devils to take the ball away.

At the game’s end, four Columbus players — Williams, Sharmenley Edouard, Jordine Moody and Renee Trapp — had at least two steals.

Though the 35-point victory shows the game was never in question, the Lady Blue Devils displayed their inexperience in the win. There were numerous turnovers in the contest along with miscues that don’t necessarily show up in the stat book.

Cherrone was well aware that the team has room for improvement. The good news is Columbus has time on its side before the important section of the schedule arrives.

“We’re focused on doing the simple things right — making layups, making free throws, not turning the ball over and not fouling,” Cherrone said. “I think once we iron some of those things out and play a smoother game, I think we’ll be alright.”

While the Columbus boys walked away with a loss, they gave the Rams all they could handle.

After Columbus lost the lead with five minutes to go in the fourth, Noah Lott cut Valley’s advantage to 61-59 with 1:22 left in regulation. Valley answered with a free throw to make it a three-point game, but Tristan Harper’s layup with 36 seconds to go put Columbus down one.

From there, Valley drove to victory. A Valley basket with 24 seconds left gave the Rams a 64-61 lead, and the Blue Devils (1-1) quickly fired off a 3-point attempt that fell well short of the mark. More free throws by the Rams put the game out of reach in the final seconds.

Harper connected on a last-second shot under the basket, but all it altered was his final stat line. He led the Blue Devils with 16 points and 4 rebounds in the loss.

Lott and David Faison reached double digits in scoring, with Lott putting up 12 points and Faison scoring 10.

This story was originally published November 18, 2017 at 2:48 PM with the headline "Columbus girls grab big win, boys fall just short versus Valley."