South Atlanta Hornets advance to the state AAAA Final Four

The South Atlanta Hornets are going on to the Final Four! Coach Reddick and his Hornets stood firm and rallied against Alexander High School for a 78-68 win for the Hornets, who advance to the Class AAAA semi finals on Saturday March 2 against Eagles Landing (26-5).

“We adjusted our defense at the end of the second quarter and it backfired on us,” Reddick said. “At halftime we told them that we just needed to calm down and stay focused and things would fall back into place for us. But that Alexander team is a scrappy bunch.”

The Alexander High School Cougars played the Hornets close the whole game. South Atlanta refocused at halftime and led by 10 late in the third quarter.  Alexander converted a crucial four-point play and trailed by six points, 57-51, going into the final period. Then the Cougars went on a 9-3 run to tie at 60 with five minutes left in the game.  The Hornets then went on a 10-0 burst to cap the game.

“Our kids are pretty resilient. By now, after the summer league games and fall leagues they’ve played almost 80 games together, like an NBA team,” Reddick said. “They are at a point where they don’t panic.”

Reddick said his team’s tough schedule prepared them for their present post-season trek, and this game was clear evidence of that.

“We played one of the toughest schedules in Class AAAA, if not the state,” Reddick said. “We played Marist, Grady and Columbia twice, and all of those teams have been ranked all season. That has helped us be mentally tough.”

Junior guard Costa Anderson led the Hornets and all scorers with 21 points.

“We’ve been here before, many times,” Anderson said. “Our coaches have prepared us and we’ve been in close games, so this was nothing new.”

Senior forward Kertiss Baisden stated that the Hornets’ extended, difficult schedule has helped the team as well.

“You can’t get tired,” said Baisden, who went for a double – double in scoring 12 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. “We have too much to play for. We want a ring. That’s why we have a poster of the ring in the gym to keep us motivated and remind us of why we’re here: To win a championship.”

Congratulations to the South Atlanta High boys basketball team for a huge third round state AAAA basketball tournament win over Alexander High School by the score of 78-68. South Atlanta now advances to the Final Four, and will play Saturday night, March 2, 2013 at Fort Valley State College at 8:30 p.m. against Eagles Landing. Go Hornets!