For the first time since the 2017-18 season, both of Newton’s basketball teams are Elite Eight bound.
On Friday, the Newton Lady Rams went on the road and pulled off the 59-49 win over an experienced and sized Norcross team. A day later, Newton’s boys team defeated Peachtree Ridge 73-51 on the road.
In both cases, the Rams knocked off a top-two seeded team with quality play in the final quarter.
Lady Rams continue magical run
The Lady Rams and head coach Jawan Bailey continued to scale upward as the team advanced past the Lady Blue Devils on Friday.
Bailey’s first season as head coach saw Newton finish 3-22.In year two, the team skyrocketed to a 19-12 record and a Sweet 16 appearance.
With a guaranteed spot in the Elite Eight in year three, Bailey did not shy away from discussing the progress of the program in only three years.
“The first year was a first round exit, last year we were able to get to the Sweet 16 and right now we are going to play in the Elite Eight,” Bailey said. “We don’t want it to stop, but just being able to take that next step shows the growth in the program.”
The spot in the Elite Eight would not have been possible without a strong final quarter against Norcross who held a 42-40 lead over Newton ahead of fourth frame.
The final eight minutes for the Lady Rams proved to be their best, as they held Norcross to only seven points while scoring 19 of their own.
Out of those 19, 15 of them came from the free throw line. Seeing his players knock down the shots at the line when they needed it the most was a special sight for Bailey.
“[It was] huge, because he had not shot them well all season,” Bailey said. “I'm just proud of them because we have had free throw struggles throughout the year so I think we were 24 of 28 from the line which is amazing. Super proud of them, we put a lot of time into our free throws and tonight they just really understood how serious and how big they were.”
London Smith converted seven of her eight free throws in the final quarter as the sophomore made a big impact after missing Newton’s first round game against Paulding County.
Although Newton managed to win despite Smith’s absence a week ago, Bailey spoke about the impact Smith brings, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.
“She did everything she needed to do to be ready for tonight’s game, [it] was just the spark we needed,” Bailey said. “Offensively, she is just that type of basketball player that instantly gives a boost to your offense. I am very glad to have her back because Tuesday I thought we were a little stagnant without her.”
Smith was not all, though.
Skylar Levell was tasked with one of the more important roles of the day as the freshman battled with Norcross’ bigs for all four quarters.
By the beginning of the fourth quarter, multiple Lady Blue Devils found themselves in foul trouble, which allowed for Newton to take advantage on the road as Smith and fellow sophomore Mya Perry continued to find scoring chances.
Even with a size disadvantage at times, Bailey emphasized the importance for Newton to not let the size of the Lady Blue Devils deter them from going into the paint.
“Of course we wanted to get them in foul trouble, but we just talked about not letting their size keep us away from the rim,” Bailey said. “Watching a lot of film, most of the teams they played just relied on the three ball, and I think that plays in their[Norcross] favor. Even though we shot the three ball, we made it a plan to get in the paint, try to finish at the rim and not shy away from the size of their team.”
Outside of the young trio of Smith, Perry and Levell, the Lady Rams also received big games from a few of their veterans such as Desiree Davis and Camille Files.
Davis continued her hot stretch in the postseason as her mix of size and shooting gave Norcross another threat to account for. Files was on the court often and knocked down all of her free throws from the line in the second half.
Smith led the way in scoring for Newton with 13 points while Davis and Perry followed with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Norcross’ ability to not only keep pace with Newton but also lead at certain times was due in part to the performances of three seniors — Mariyah Valrie, Justus Fitzgerald and Cadence Peterson.
While Valrie and Fitzgerald patrolled the inside and battled with the likes of Levell and Davis, Peterson traded baskets with Perry and Smith.
Peterson and Fitzgerald finished the game with 14 points apiece while Valrie ended with 13 points.
After getting a 10-point win in their first road test of the playoffs, another one awaits the Lady Rams in the form of the Buford Lady Wolves, who defeated Etowah 55-51 in the Sweet 16.
Up against another storied program, Bailey spoke about the eagerness to play a program like Buford and a coach like Gene Durden.
“Norcross is a truly prestigious program in the state of Georgia, and we were excited for the challenge of playing them tonight. Buford is the same,” Bailey said. “Buford has countless state championships. Gene is probably the guy I looked up to the most when I started coaching so I am very excited to coach up against him. It is just time to prepare and see if we can pull it off again.”
“We feel like we can be just as dangerous as anyone else.”
Newton’s starting five dominate, Rams advance
On Saturday, Newton’s starting five was all it needed to move past a stout Peachtree RIdge team on the road to advance to the Elite Eight.
By game’s end, the Rams’ starting group of Ted Neal, Marcus Smith, Zach Harden, Jordan Green and Bryce Jackson were the only Newton players to score in the team’s 73-51 win over the Lions.
Going in, head coach Barry Browner knew they would need a big game out of their main guys.
“That was a big thing for us, we know we have to play our horses,” Browner said. “We don’t have a heavy bench with a lot of experience so we had to ride our guys. We tell them all the time, ‘Guys have to be guys.’ You saw it tonight, guys were guys. That guy right there[Ted Neal], he was a guy.”
Neal had yet another big game after going for 21 points in Newton’s first round win over Hillgrove. However, it was senior guard Marcus Smith that stole the show on Saturday with a 21-point performance of his own.
Smith’s ability to get to the rim with speed and power led to yet another big game for the 6-foot senior.
With the season in the final stretch, Browner still labels Smith as one of the more underrated players in the state.
“People don’t really understand how good Marcus Smith is,” Browner said. “Marcus Smith is a special point guard. With his speed, he was able to get to the basket and was able to calm something down. Our guard play was just awesome.”
Smith, Neal and Zach Harden Jr. each had big performances in the second half that saw Newton shoot a combined 14 of 18 from the field.
The success translated well at the free throw line, too, where Newton converted on 16 of 18 free throws.
“You have to make shots to win big games,” Browner said.
Harden is a player that received extra praise from Browner following the game as the Minnoesta commit has been in the midst of a strong stretch dating back to the Region 4-AAAAAA tournament.
“I was joking with him today in shootarounds, and I was like ‘You’re a Division I basketball player but you just play football,’” Browner said. “I am just so proud of him. Our whole thing has been about. ‘Any means necessary’. We saw guys sacrifice themselves and pick each other up. The bench was loud, our fans were loud — it was awesome.”
Despite the 18-point, the game was neck-and-neck for the majority of regulation.
The game began with a fast-paced opening frame that ended with Newton ahead 22-19.
Newton and Peachtree Ridge remained close until midway through the third quarter where the Rams began to seperate.
As the final minutes ticked off the clock, the Rams faithful in attendance began to make noise as Browner turned to the crowd to pump them up.
After an emotional final quarter, Browner spoke about what it meant to advance to the Elite Eight in his second year as the Newton head coach.
“Just getting over the hump,” Browner said. “Last year, we got beat by McEachern in the Sweet 16. We had to spend spring, summer and fall thinking about that game. I am proud of the way these guys fought. My seniors, they were awesome tonight.”
After a road test in the Sweet 16, the Rams will have the luxury of hosting the Elite Eight when they take on the Etowah Eagles(23-6). The Eagles went on the road and defeated Buford 64-61 in their Sweet 16 matchup.
