Cross Creek Holds Off Archer In OT At Tournament of Champions
On Monday, the annual Tournament of Champions basketball classic tipped off at Wheeler High School as teams from around Georgia and the country made their way to Marietta for the holiday hoops event that featured match ups of some of the state’s top programs, including the Cross Creek Razorbacks facing the Archer Tigers.
Both teams would get off to sluggish starts in the opening quarter that would end with the Razorbacks hold a 12-11 lead at the break. In the second quarter, Cross Creek would go up by as many as 11 points, however, the Tigers would battle back to trail 24-20 at the half thanks to a Domani Harrison three point basket just before the buzzer.
Heading into the fourth quarter, the Razorbacks would find themselves with a 38-33 lead and would go up by nine in the period, but the Tigers would claw their way back into the game outscoring Cross Creek 24-19 to tie the at 57 all with :05 to go in the quarter and eventually send the game into overtime. But in the OT period, the Razorbacks would best Archer to pick up the 63-59 win. Cross Creek’s Antoine Lorick would have a game high, 21 points.
Following the win, Cross Creek head coach, Lawrence Kelly said the win was important for his team after heading into the Christmas break with a pair of losses. “Building momentum going into region, of course we’ve got a tough region, so we’re just trying to get better every day” Kelly said. He would that defense was key for them in Monday’s victory. “The biggest thing was us locking in on the defensive end,” Kelly said, noting that “quality looks” offensively also played a major part in the win.
