AHSAA REGIONALS: Central holds off Daphne

TROY — Central coach Bobby Wright looked dog-tired, but still impeccably dressed in his tie and suspenders, after his team’s Class 6A South Region semifinal game against Daphne on Wednesday.

Wright has been at Central for more than 30 years, but he said the nailbiters, like the one his Red Devils just went through to get to the regional final, never get any easier.

“Without defense,” Wright concluded after some reflection and relaxing, “We would’ve been out a long time ago.”

The final 30 seconds of Central’s 47-45 win over Daphne backed up this assertion.

After junior Darren Daniel hit two free throws to put the No. 5 Red Devils on top, Central went to a full-court press that nearly drew a 10-second call and forced the No. 8 Trojans to burn a timeout.

The Red Devils’ pressure on the inbounds play forced an off-balance 3 that clanged off the rim.

And when Daphne’s Starling King thought he had an open look to win the game with less than 3 seconds to go, Central’s Joseph Thompson convinced him otherwise.

The 6-foot-4 senior ranged to the perimeter from his position in the lane and knocked King’s shot into the scorer’s table.

“I knew he was going straight up with it,” Thompson said. “So I just wanted to mess with his shot selection. And I made the block.”

“It was a timely block,” his coach added.

King got another chance at the buzzer, but his 3 rimmed out and sealed the win for the Red Devils (23-4).

Central led by as many as 8 points in the third quarter, but the Trojans (22-6) went on an 18-5 run to take a 5-point lead with 3:10 left in the game.

The Trojans used five 3-pointers in the second half to catch up with — and eventually overtake — Central. King and Michael Hobbs each hit two.

Wright said the scouting tape he watched on Daphne made him worry more about its guards’ driving than their outside shooting

“They were like gazelles or something; it was hard to corral those guys,” Wright said. “And (Hobbs), on the film, he couldn’t hit a bull in the butt with a two-by-four. But tonight, he was nailing them.”

After Central went down by 5, Daniel hit a 3 on their next possession to break a 6:36 scoring string, then drove to the hole and hit a layup after a Trojans turnover to tie the game with two minutes left.

“I just knew somebody had to step up,” said the junior, who led the team with 16 points. “We worked too hard all year. I didn’t want us to go home.”

Thompson came up with a steal on Central’s next possession and ran the length of the floor, dishing to Marquez Lewis under the basket for the go-ahead bucket.

After two Daphne free throws tied it, Daniel hit his two deciding free throws at the other end.

“I was kind of nervous, but I had to shake it off for my team,” Daniel said.

Antonio King scored 12 for Central, and Thompson added 10.

Marceice Jackson had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Daphne, while Tim Crandell also scored 10.

Central will play No. 7 Baldwin County in the region final Saturday at 10:40 a.m.

dmorrison@oanow.com | 737-2568

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