JACKSON — That one fleeting moment to tie the game.
That’s all Aberdeen High School boys basketball coach Roy Hazzle thought his team needed to be playing for a Class 3A state championship gold ball trophy next week.
It was Kemper County High School and its McDonald’s All-American selection Devonta Pollard that simply wouldn’t allow that to take place Saturday afternoon as it escaped Mississippi Coliseum with a 62-58 semi-final victory over the Bulldogs.
Pollard, who is still being recruited to play next season at Mississippi State University, the University of Kentucky and the University of Texas, finished the afternoon with a double-double effort of 22 points and 18 rebounds along with being 10-for-11 from the foul line.
“We knew they would come out and never give up so only thing we could do is keep playing hard despite getting a little frustrated,” Pollard said. “I let my frustrations get to me down the stretch. I’ll have to stop that and focus on keep playing.”
Aberdeen (27-7) was playing in Jackson for the state title for the first time since the 2008 squad won the school’s only championship.
The Bulldogs had not lost two game in a row all season and for a window of time Saturday had the crowd believing it wouldn’t start that trend to end the 2011-12 campaign.
After struggling to start the first period, Hazzle put on the full-court press to speed up the tempo and make all five of Kemper County’s players handle the basketball. The style worked to create 30 turnovers by the Wildcats and 13 points off those giveaways.
“The kids really laid out there on the court and didn’t leave anything but tears in the dressing room,” Hazzle said. “The problem for us was we got the turnovers but didn’t capitalize on them with layups on the other end.”
With just over five minutes left in the first half, Aberdeen senior guard Shedrick Fair nailed a wide-open three-point shot to cut the Bulldogs deficit to three and force Wildcats coach Kelvin Young to call a timeout to regroup his team.
Kemper County (23-8) would take a 32-26 halftime lead into the locker room and began the second half on 7-1 to take its biggest lead of the day at 39-27.
Pollard, a 6-foot-8 forward, was doubled-teamed and pressured by Aberdeen’s collapsing defense all game so he had a much bigger impact on the defensive end with four blocks and on the glass with 15 defensive rebounds.
When hopes looked grim for an Aberdeen upset in the third quarter, the Bulldogs finished the final three minutes of that period with a 12-3 run that included baskets by four different players.
“We worked on that (press break) all week sending six or seven guys out there to trap,” Young said. “There were a few times one of guys ran in the opposite direction of what we worked on. Where that come from, I have no idea, maybe nerves because that’s not what we taught every day.”
Aberdeen senior guard Shedrick Fair would lead all scorers with 25 points but had a frustrating night shooting going 2-for-10 from beyond the three-point arc. The Bulldogs leading scorer Elliot Johnson was contained by Pollard and the rest of the Kemper County’s front line to just four points and nine rebounds.
“It hurt real bad because this isn’t the way we wanted the season to be over,” Johnson said. “We felt like we had the game right where we wanted it but couldn’t push over the top.”
Aberdeen had a chance to tie the game with 17.2 seconds remaining but off an inbounds play, a rushed leaning jump shot couldn’t find the bottom of the net ending all hope for a comeback and the Bulldogs 2011-12 campaign.
“If we could’ve even tied the game up at any point then it would’ve meant we could’ve turned the heat up more,” Hazzle said. “We know and kept saying ‘we don’t lose in overtime’ so to get that point would’ve been huge for us no question.”
Throughout the entire final quarter, Aberdeen would not let the deficit get any greater than six but when they made one final push Kemper County senior point guard Nick Giles made a crucial bucket and then steal which resulted in a layup to secure the victory.
After the loss, Hazzle not only left the door open to come back for more seasons at Aberdeen but openly campaigned to stay on as head coach of the program. The 59-year-old coach, who retired from teaching and coaching in May of last season but was asked to return to coach this season’s squad, said he’d enjoy continuing as a part-time employee by the school district in order to still collect retirement while doing what he loves — coach Aberdeen’s program.
“I’ve never been around such a great group of young men and I told them just that in the locker room,” Hazzle said. “Coaching is a love and I’ll never give up on a group of young guys. The decision of coming back is like this — if I don’t, I’ll be their number one cheerleader.”
For a team with eight seniors and eight juniors on the roster, the players in the locker room unanimously agree Hazzle should be on the sidelines next season.
“We wouldn’t be where we are without Coach Hazzle,” Johnson said. “We knew he wanted to go to into retirement but we also knew if he came back this team could finally make it to state and win it. We almost got there for him.”
Giles would finish as the only other Kemper County player in double figures with 20 points and was 7-for-8 from the charity stripe.
“It is great being a sidekick of Devonta Pollard,” Giles said. What he does is keep your energy up and keep you playing hard. We’re the leaders of this team.”
The Wildcats duo of Pollard and Giles, who said they have been on the same team since fourth grade, will lead Kemper County into the Class 3A state championship game vs. Booneville Thursday at 8:30 p.m.
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