Dunwoody, Graham rams Rome

DUNWOODY, GA – With a minute left to play, Dunwoody forward Delwan Graham took a knee during a free throw and looked at his cheering section and said with a sigh, “Man, I’m tired.”

He should be. The 6-foot-7 junior put in a big time effort in Dunwoody’s 81-55 win over Rome.

Graham scored 19 points, grabbed 19 rebounds, blocked four shots, passed out four assists and recorded three steals. Rome simply had no answer for the athletic forward. In the first half, Graham was a monster on the boards and used his high-energy motor to grab nine boards and created opportunties for Dunwoody to score around the cup.

“I probably wake up about 4 o’clock tomorrow afternoon,” Graham said half joking, half serious.

Graham played 30 minutes and made the most of it on every possession. If he wasn’t rebounding, he was scoring on his own offensive rebounds. If he wasn’t blocking or altering shots, he was frustrating Rome’s 6-foot-10 center Tony Woods.

Offensively, Graham wasn’t the only weapon for the Wildcats. Dunwoody relied on sharp shooting of Georgia bound guard Zac Swansey. The 6-foot-3 senior finished with a game high 24 points. No one shoots a better midrange jumper than he does.

Swansey didn’t miss a shot in the second half and looked very comfortable with his dribble drive and pop and shot shooting. The future Bulldog has been Dunwoody’s scoring force from the backcourt this season.

Rome struggled with turnovers, with Woods turning it over eight times himself. Woods, a high-major prospect, finished with eight points, nine rebounds and seven blocked shots. Sophomore guard Jamalcolm Griffin led Rome with 17 points.

Dunwoody travels to South Carolina next week for the Chick-Fil-A Classic. Georgia Hoops will also be there.

GEORGIAHOOPS PLAYER OF THE GAME: Delwan Graham, Dunwoody