By Adam MacDonald
VALDOSTA — The Valdosta Wildcats are a team on a mission.
Playing in their first game since assistant head coach Derrick Keaton passed away, the ’Cats steamrolled Greenbrier in the first round of the Class AAAAA state playoffs, 78-51, Saturday night to advance to the Sweet 16.
Jay Rome scored a game-high 23 points and the ’Cats’ suffocating defense forced numerous Wolf Pack turnovers.
“Of course we’ve been mourning the loss of Coach Keaton and it’s all on our minds, but we know he would want us to play hard,” Valdosta head coach Rufus McDuffie said. “We talked about coming out with a lot of energy and being ready to play. We started the ball game off playing very well.”
Leading 5-4 early in the game, Valdosta (27-1) went on a 19-0 run to take command of the game. Rome scored eight points and the ’Cats hit three 3-pointers on the run, but it was the defense that led the way.
During the 19-0 run, the Wildcats forced four turnovers on inbounds passes, and Greenbrier (10-19) went about four minutes without crossing halfcourt because of the ’Cats’ defensive pressure.
Valdosta led 30-8 at the end of the first quarter. They were on pace to score 120 points in the game.
Greenbrier fought back to finish the second quarter on a 5-0 run, and early in the third quarter, the Wolf Pack cut Valdosta’s lead to 15 points. But the ’Cats responded by going on a 10-0 run to seal the victory.
“We changed defenses, and that kept them from getting transition baskets right away,” McDuffie said.
All-Region player Thoullit Hunter got in early foul trouble, and fellow All-Region player Cameron Venus scored just three points, but the ’Cats got a huge lift from Rapha Weldon off the bench.
Weldon had 12 points, but did most of his damage under the basket, hauling in rebounds, blocking shots and drawing charges.
“I think they were so focused on Jay that they left me wide open,” Weldon said. “We used Coach Keaton’s motto of keep going, keep pushing.”
Jeremy Fountain scored 11 points for the ’Cats, and Rontrel Frazier added eight points.
Greenbrier’s big weapon — Bryan Andrews — didn’t score a basket until 1:30 left in the first quarter. He finished with 14 points.
Before the game, Valdosta principal Gary Boling asked the large crowd to observe a moment of silence for Keaton, who passed away on Thursday.
Several Valdosta players paid homage to Keaton. Frazier wore No. 24 during the game, Keaton’s old number. Rome carved the initials “DK” into his hair for Derrick Keaton, and Nehemiah Banks carved the letters “CK” into his hair for Coach Keaton.
A memorial service for Keaton will be held Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Macedonia First Baptist Church, located at 715 J.L. Lomax Drive.
The ’Cats will face the winner of the Groves-Riverdale game at home at 6 p.m. on Wednesday for a spot in the state’s Elite Eight.
“Any time you advance in the state playoffs, it’s big,” McDuffie said. “This is what we wanted to do, so we have to get ready for the next opponent.”
