Published Wednesday, January 27, 2010 10:52 AM
Updated Wednesday, January 27, 2010 10:54 AM
Stratford hoops
It’s a cliché Stratford boys basketball coach Troy Johnson is absolutely tired of thinking to himself after every region game.
“Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades,” he said after his team’s 62-56 home loss to Berkeley Friday. “We could be 4-0 (in the region) but we’re 0-4.”
The Stags, playing without prized point guard Bruce Ellington, ended the game on a 10-1 run to force-feed the Knights another tough loss. The Knights also lost close to James Island (47-42), Wando (56-50) and Goose Creek (57-45) in their first run through the Region 7-AAAA slate.
“They picked us to finish fifth in the region when the year began, and that’s where we are – fifth,” Johnson said.
Johnson’s team rallied from 13 points down in the first half to go up 55-52 with a 9-0 run late in the fourth quarter. But the Knights could only score a single free throw in the final 2:23.
Berkeley’s DC Cunningham tied the game with 2:01 left on a 3-pointer from the corner and Victor Williams made a pair of free throws with 1:26 left to give the Stags the lead for good.
While the home stretch was their undoing, Johnson said the first half was more damaging to his team’s chances of winning.
“I (told the team) if we could have made a layup in the first half, we win easily,” he said. “We missed nine layups in the first half. We lost this game in the first quarter, not the fourth.”
Berkeley had to go all but 30 seconds without Ellington after the South Carolina signee jammed his finger.
“They got up and everybody played better,” Johnson said of the Stags.
Berkeley built an 18-5 lead before Stratford began to hit some shots.
The Stags led 52-46 when senior Brant Sally converted a 3-point play to give the Knights a 54-52 lead with 2:46 left. Brandon Hester’s free throw 23 seconds late gave the Knights their three-point lead.
Sally ended up with a team-high 14 points and Jamar Stevens tacked on 11 points. Hester chipped in seven points.
Stratford was to host Summerville Tuesday in a non-region game before getting back into region play Friday at James Island.
The Stratford girls team is also in dire need of some region wins the second trip through the region slate.
They fell to Berkeley 52-31, remaining winless against region foes.
“What we’re looking for is improvement against everybody else the second time around,” Stratford coach David Poole said. “We think we have the kids with the heart and desire to make that happen.”
Against Berkeley, sophomore guard Tiffany Addison led the Lady Knights with 12 points. Sophomore Gabrielle Griggs added nine points.
“We had a lot of open looks but shots just didn’t go down,” Poole said.