‘Executed our plan’: Great Falls basketball downs Estill, heads to Upper State finals
The Great Falls Red Devils broke the game open early and routed the Estill Gators, 74-38, in the third round of the 1A playoffs Tuesday night at Great Falls.
After Estill took a 3-0 lead, the Red Devils ran off 19 straight points for a 19-3 advantage with 26 seconds remaining in the first period. They led 19-4 at the end of the quarter.
The second quarter was more of the same. Great Falls outscored the Gators 17-9 in the period to forge a 36-13 lead at halftime.
Kelton Talford led the charge in the first half with nine points. Kell Brown added seven, and DJ Adams chipped in six.
The Red Devils didn’t let up in the second half. They continued their aggressive defense, solid transition game, and overall super team effort. When the third period was in the books, they were up 54-26.
Great Falls continued the assault into the final eight minutes. When the clock read 3:43 to play in the game, the starters were done for the night.
The reserves, who had already logged playing time along the way, finished the one-sided game.
Brown led Great Falls with 14 points. Talford added 12, Dre Dre Coleman got 11, and Adams contributed 10.
Great Falls head coach Alex Fair was very pleased with his teams’ overall play.
“We watched a lot of film so we knew what they were going to do,” said Fair, who saw his team win for the 20th straight time. “We worked hard in practice, and we executed our plan very well tonight.”
The defensive effort was especially pleasing to Fair.
“We were outstanding as a team on defense tonight,” added Fair. “We were off just a little on our overall shooting, but we did well from 3-point range.”
The Red Devils used a lot of players in the big win.
“We bring those players in with a lot of confidence,” added Fair. “That gives our starters a break, and it keeps fresh players on the floor.”
The victory improves the Red Devils to 25-3 on the year. They will play High Point on Friday night at 5:30 p.m. in Bon Secours Area in Greenville for the Upper State Championship.
Other Tri-County basketball scores
The Andrew Jackson boys’ basketball team wins, 60-49, over Abbeville in the third round of the 2A state playoffs. The Volunteers head to Greenville for the Upper State title game on Saturday.
The Indian Land boys’ basketball team fell, 93-68, to Seneca on Tuesday night in the third round of the 3A state playoffs.
This story was originally published February 25, 2020 at 10:52 PM.