By T. Scott Boatright
The Choudrant Aggies knew their backs were against the wall.
They also knew they had control of their own destiny.
And Destiny danced on the side Friday night as the Aggies defeated Simsboro 77-74 to close out the 2-B season tied with the Tigers at 2-1.
Michael Jones dominated — as in DOMINATED — the paint to the tune of 37 points — yes, 37 — points Friday night to lift the Aggies to a 77-74 District 2-B showdown win over Simsboro at the CHS Gym.
That win means the Aggies and Tigers ended district play tied at 3-1, meaning they’ll face each other in an extra game — potentially, or probably next week — for the 2-B title and better Class B playoff seeding.
It was a win that left Aggies coach Ryan Smith breathless.
“I don’t know what to say —- it was incredible,” Smith said. “Both teams played so hard. I’m so proud of the way our guys kept fighting. Michael Jones was a monster. But it wasn’t just him. He and Lawson (Stevens) were both awesome inside and just fed off each other. They just kept fighting.
“But the reason we held on was probably our other guys. Michael and Lawson deservedly earned the most attention, but this was a total team win tonight, and that’s what’s most important of all.”
It wasn’t an easy win. The Aggies led 15-14 at the end of the opening stanza but trailed 32-31 at the half.
Things didn’t get much better in the third quarter as the Tigers outscored the Aggies 26-21 to build a 58-52 advantage heading into the final eight minutes of play.
Jones took over from there, scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter to help lift the Aggies to the win.
The fact his Aggies outscored the Tigers 25-16 in the final stanza wasn’t unnoticed by their coach.
“They kept fighting — they weren’t going to quit,.It might not look totally that way on the stat sheet, but that was a total team win, and without our younger guys it wouldn’t have happened,” Smith said
Stevens and Carson Carrico added 10 points each for the Aggies while Tucker Batterton added nine and Brayden Pye hit for seven.
“As good as Michael and Lawson played, like they always go, it was guys like Tucker and Brayden that played big roles tonight. Big roles. As we move forward we can’t just rely on our two older guys. We need the younger guys to step up and they did tonight.”
Itavius Brown led Simsboro with 23 points while Jakaleb Modest chipped in with 20 and Ahmad Smith hit for 11 for the Tigers.
The CHS win puts up a likely potential tie for the regular season District 2-B with both Sijmsboro and Choudrant standing at 3-1.
Choudrant will next play host to Downsville on Tuesday before playing at Forest on Friday.
“We need to focus on taking care of business, that’s the main deal,” Smith said. “But this was big. Simsboro is a good team. But we are too. This is all fun right now.”
Simsboro will next play at Forest on Tuesday before closing out District 2-B play on Friday by hosting Downsville Charter.
