It wasn’t until Crofton drilled a fadeaway, buzzer-beating 3-pointer that Southern boys basketball snapped back to life.
That bookend to the third quarter from junior Miles Denton slashed the Bulldogs’ once-imposing lead to two points. The Cardinals took advantage of little chinks in Southern’s armor, but none moreso than turnovers. Crofton’s second-half comeback stemmed from steals or mistakes.
The young Bulldogs turned to their senior.
“We were in such a big slump, somebody gotta score. Somebody gotta get the bucket,” senior Ethan Sheffey said. “So I took initiative and did it myself.”
Sheffey brought control back to his side and his teammates followed, leading to a 55-43 win.
“We cursed ourselves because we only had two turnovers in the first half,” Bulldogs coach Will Maynard said. “We figured, ‘Alright, let’s raise coach’s blood pressure a little bit.’”
Maynard sees Southern (12-5) having a bright future. But currently, his roster is comprised of mostly underclassmen, players the coach said are hesitant to believe their own abilities.
“I just gotta build motivation in them,” Sheffey said. “That little young guy, Daniel [Lewis], who guards with me – he’s the future leader.”
As Crofton went after a tying basket early in the fourth, the Bulldogs’ defense wouldn’t allow it. Sheffey unloaded four of his 13 fourth-quarter points in rapid succession. What he didn’t hit from the foul line he mostly earned by picking the Cardinals’ pockets.
Maynard noted that Sheffey, who averages five steals per game, is nearing the all-time program record.
“It helps to have a senior like Ethan,” Maynard said. “He controls the game. He bullies a lot of guards and just takes the ball. We will definitely miss him.”
Southern built a 30-19 halftime lead, but Maynard warned his players about what was to come.
“I said, ‘Guys, you have to understand this is a good team that’s beaten or given a dogfight to the better teams in the county,’” he said. “I knew they [weren’t] gonna back away.”
Crofton took advantage of every Bulldog hiccup and used it to fuel its comeback. The Cardinals flooded the zone on defense, herded Southern ball-handlers out of bounds and dive-bombed the net for any errant shots. More rebounding meant chances to shoot. Southern only managed four third-quarter points as its lead thinned.
In the final seconds of the quarter, Crofton trailed by five. Defense forced Southern’s Bryson Mims to lose the ball toward the stands. Crofton gathered it and fed Denton.
In the second the ball sailed through the air, Denton hitting the court was all that could be heard. The packed Crofton crowd held its breath. The cheers nearly overpowered the sound of the buzzer as Denton’s 3-pointer struck.
By the time junior Will Frost sunk another trey for the Cardinals, they’d fallen behind 49-34.
Maynard’s message at the top of the fourth quarter was simple: Pick up the intensity.
Southern had become too comfortable, allowing Crofton to land every quality shot they found. He rearranged his bigs to “play small,” allowing Sheffey to hound Cardinals inside.
But in the end, it wasn’t just his leading scorer that Maynard praised. Rex Wooster, Miles Money and Josh Howell all “gave good minutes.”
“And the good thing about it is those are all underclassmen,” Maynard said. “I think we realized we’re a little better than we thought we were. We’re just getting better, so knock on wood – hopefully we can stay healthy and make a run in that 2A region.”
Southern – 14 16 4 21 – 55 Crofton – 7 10 15 11 – 43
SO: Ethan Sheffey 26, Daniel Lewis 11, Gavin Crandell 6, Josh Howell 3, Bryson Mims 3, Myles Money 2, Anthony Thomas 2, Wyatt Brady 2
CR: Mayowa Quadri 10, Will Frost 10, Miles Denton 9, Jayden Queen 4, Dylan Shafer 4, Timmy Brown 4, Ethan Collett 2
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