COLUMBUS, GA -- There were no secrets in this one. Playing in their fourth match-up against each other this season, Glenn Hills and Washington County stuck to their strengths and traded punches in the Elite Eight round of the AAA state tournament at Columbus State on Saturday.
Glenn Hills just happen to have the bigger punch in the end and moved onto the Final Four with a 56-44 win over its region foe.
Glenn Hills attacked the basket with round after round of drives to the rim from the team's guards and always seemed to have an answer when one was needed.
The Spartans won the first three prior meetings and head coach Richard Wallace said he was a little nervous about playing the Golden Hawks for a fourth time this season.
"I'll be honest, I didn't really want to play Washington County for a fourth time. That's a good basketball team," Wallace said. "The law of averages usually wins out. I'm glad it didn’t today because we are happy to move on."
The strength of Glenn Hills is the team's different looks that it can throw at a team. If Reggie Middleton isn't scoring, Chris Reynolds is. If Jerel Stephenson isn't scoring, Jihad McCloud is. The depth at the guard position is strong and all four players know how to play their respective positions.
Glenn Hills picked apart the Washington County defense and scored at the rim with relative ease.
"The type of zone they were running was like a match-up zone that spread it out and made us penetrate to the basket," Wallace said.
McCloud, a 6-foot unsigned senior, scored a team high 15 points. Middleton, a Winthrop signee, finished with 11 points while Stephenson, a UNC Wilmington signee, chipped in with 11 of his own and grabbed 10 rebounds. Reynolds, who signed with Campbell in the fall, scored eight in the win.
"This time of year it is about executing what you know what to do," Wallace said.
And that is just what Glenn Hills excels at.
Glenn Hills will play Hart County on March 7 at 5:30 p.m. at the Macon Centreplex.
