PHENIX CITY — Two points right after tipoff is as close as the game came as Central topped Dothan, 61-51, to advance to the Central Regional in Montgomery next week.
Dothan had no offense early in the first period as Jamal Rogers had all 8 points for the Tigers.
The scoring was back and forth for much of the night after the first period but by the time Dothan got rolling it would be too much for them to overcome.
With the winner-takes-all feel in the building, you could see the emotion all over the court.
“I felt that there was a lack of focus for our boys (Saturday) and it showed.” said coach Bobby Wright. “We need to cut down on the silly mistakes like traveling and the bad fouls, but we have a lot we need to get right before our next game if we want a chance to be back in the Final Four.”
With the lack of offense early for the Tigers, Central used it to its advantage and never looked back. The game seemed closer than the score would indicate, as throughout the second half it was a back-and-forth game.
The Red Devils were lead by senior Darren Daniel, who had 17 points in the Central win.
“I was just really feeling it (Saturday) and came to play. It’s the playoffs. Time to put up or shut up,” said Daniel. “We all know what it takes to get there but we don’t want to come up short again this year because that feeling is something that stays with you.”
Wright complimented his senior’s play.
“Darren played like we need the leader of the team to play,” Wright said. “He stepped up big for us and we will need him and Yurmon (Barnes) to play like this if we wont to keep winning.”
Barnes also scored some big points for the Devils, putting up 14 of his own.
“We played well. I have a lot of faith in this team, coaching staff and fams, and think we can make a run deep like we did with last year’s team,” said Barnes.
Rogers led Dothan and all scorers with 19 points and scored the Tigers’ first 10 points of the game.
Other leading scores for the Tigers were Benard McGhee, who had 10 points, and Greg Marsh with 9 points.
Dothan ends the season with a 21-7 record for the year. Central will travel to Alabama State University to play Prattville on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. in the Central Regional.
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