Appomattox boys hang on against Chatham

CHATHAM — Chatham’s Pierre Fuller had just completed Chatham’s improbable comeback, hitting a jumper from the right corner to tie the contest at 52-52 with about two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Cavaliers’ fans were on their feet and making more noise than at any time in the first three quarters. However, the great equalizer for Appomattox County was the 3-point shot.

Appomattox’s Kenny Scott nailed his second 3-pointer on the next possession – the eighth of the game by the Raiders as a team – and the No. 4-ranked team in Group A never looked back, holding off a furious rally from the Cavaliers to win 61-58 Friday night in Dogwood District action.

Nearly half of Appomattox’s (13-2, 4-1 Dogwood) made field goals were 3-pointers, including six in the first half when the Raiders established the tempo and style of the game.

“I thought we really came in focused. We’re capable of doing that every night,” Appomattox coach Brantley Shields said. “Tonight, our guys really came through and they were ready to play.”

Despite Chatham making a furious rally, a 20-7 run that spanned nearly 9-1/2 minutes to tie the contest at 52, the Raiders were equally effective from the foul line. Appomattox made 17-of-19 from the line, including 9-of-10 in the final quarter.

“They shot the ball real well tonight,” Chatham coach Barry Mayo said. “They shot it the way teams need to shoot, give credit to them. We put the defense out there and I think our guys did a good job defensively, but they just hit some big shots.”

Appomattox came out shooting early, drilling four 3-pointers in the opening period to carry them to a 21-13 lead. Rionn Pradia hit two of those and finished with three 3-pointers on the night before fouling out with 13 points. Neal Thomas finished with 14 points and six rebounds and Scott added a team-high nine rebounds.

Chatham’s game plan in the first quarter — pounding the ball inside and exploiting the Raiders’ lack of size — did not pan out as the Cavaliers (8-5, 3-1 Dogwood) forced many shots and tried to play the fast-paced, hectic style that the Raiders used to open the game. It hurt the Cavaliers, who trailed 35-24 at halftime.

“We just weren’t focused when we first started. We came together later on in the game, but we kind of had to fill them out to see how they play,” Chatham forward Marcus Fuller, who finished with nine points and six rebounds, said. “They came out hot, they came out shooting. We contested, we had a hand in front of their face every time, but if it’s going down, it’s going down.”

Chatham’s Chris Harben then took control in the third quarter, scoring 10 of his game-high 23 points, including a layup in transition that cut the deficit to 47-42 by the start of the fourth quarter.

From there, every time Chatham got a basket, the Raiders capitalized either at the free throw line or from beyond the arc.

Patrick Murphy scored 13 points for the Cavaliers before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. Solomon Witcher had a quiet night from the field, scoring just six points, but the forward had game-highs of 17 rebounds and six assists.

“We knew they were going to make a run. Good teams make runs, especially at home,” Shields said. “We knew at halftime they were going to make a run and withstand it and I thought our guys in the fourth quarter did a good job of maintaining their composure and pulling this one out.”