Adam MacDonald
VALDOSTA — The Valdosta Wildcats won their fourth straight game over crosstown rival Lowndes on Friday, pulling away from Vikings for a 73-64 win in the Charles Cooper Gym.
Jay Rome scored 24 of his 29 points in the second half after sitting out the entire second quarter with foul trouble and Valen Lopez provided the dagger in a tight ballgame by draining a 3-pointer with 2:18 to go in the game to give the Wildcats their first double digit lead.
Carlos Beverly added 12 points for the ’Cats and Wesley Bee chipped in with 11 points.
LaVonta Jones, Brian Moore and Aaron Winston led the Vikings with 13 points apiece.
“This was a region game, and we need to win every region game that we play, if possible,” Valdosta coach Rufus McDuffie said. “That’s how we approached it.”
The Vikings (12-8, 4-5) stayed close and got to within a point of Valdosta’s lead early in the fourth quarter on back-to-back 3-pointers by Brian Wright and Jones, but they went cold and only managed two field goals over the last five minutes of the game.
The ’Cats (16-2, 9-1) took advantage by working in the paint and drawing fouls. Finally, Lopez hit his big 3-pointer that gave the ’Cats a 69-59 lead and fans for both teams started heading for the exits.
“That was big shot,” McDuffie said. “That put us up double figures. He was open and if he’s open he’s supposed to shoot it.”
With Rome out of the game for much of the first half with two fouls, the Vikings found a way to hang around despite never leading in the first half. Kenneth Durden buried a 3-pointer with 52 seconds left in the second quarter to make it 30-28 ’Cats at halftime.
Rome immediately went to work in the second half, scoring the first two of his 24 second half points on a layup five seconds into the third quarter. Rome scored 10 of Valdosta’s first 12 points of the third quarter, but the Vikings weathered the storm. Durden hit a jumper, Winston made a layup and Robert Powell made a layup on an assist from Jones to give the Vikings their first lead of the game, 43-42, with 2:57 to go in the third.
The lead was short-lived. After the ’Cats missed their next time down the court, Lopez stole the ball from Jones and tossed it to Rome for an easy dunk. The Vikings would get within one of Valdosta’s lead two more times, but the ’Cats always had an answer. Finally, the Vikings’ shots, including free throws, stopped falling.
“We weren’t able to knock down shots we are accustomed to making,” Lowndes coach Kingston Clark said. “Then the free throw line killed us. We had crucial free throws. I think we missed about 15 free throws tonight.”
Both teams have quick turnarounds with long trips up I-75 today. The Vikings are at Houston County and the ’Cats are at Warner Robins. Clark called the game a “must-win” for the Vikings, who have lost four region games in a row after starting 4-1.
