ATLANTA – It came down to the last seconds of the game, but the Newton Rams pulled off a 56-53 victory over the Pebblebrook Falcons to advance to the AAAAAA state championship game.
Both Newton and Pebblebrook matched up well against each other at the neutral site of the Georgia State Convocation Center. The game was never too far out of reach for either squad, with each team trading buckets at a consistent pace.
Heroic efforts in the fourth quarter from seniors Marcus Smith and Zach Harden gave Newton the lead they needed to seemingly close the game out for Newton. Despite no made three-pointers, the Rams seemed to have the game won with a 10-point lead with 2:00 to go.
Until it almost wasn’t.
The Falcons soared back into contention with shots from Max McNeill, Jaylen Humphrey and Zyree Brown closing the game within one point in the final seconds of the game.
After Smith converted two clutch free-throws, a hail mary effort from Brown to tie the game came up short to secure the victory.
Newton came out swinging to start the contest, with early buckets from Harden and Smith. The junior Jordan Green got involved early, too, scoring four quick points.
Appalachian State commit Ted Neal, who has shined throughout the postseason, also saw production on both ends of the floor to allow the Rams to lead 14-10 to close out the first frame.
The quartet of Rams starters continued to show good ball movement throughout the second frame, but that did not deter the Falcons from keeping things close.
In particular the duo of Brown and Humphrey, as well as senior Jaivyon Nurse kept the game competitive and within reach at 27-25 in favor of the Rams to end the half.
Humphrey continued to impress on the big stage early, tying the game at 27-27 coming out of the intermission. But the Rams continued to move the ball well, with the quartet all scoring points and making plays on both ends.
However, an underlying story for the Rams was foul trouble.
Neal picked up his fourth game foul midway through the third frame and had to be sat to avoid fouling out. This proved to be to the detriment of the Rams, as the Falcons surged back in the form of two big shots from Nurse.
The three-pointer from the 6-3 senior gave the Falcons their first lead of the night at 41-40 for all of seven seconds before Green tied the contest at 41-41 heading into the final frame.
Shortly after the fourth quarter began, Harden picked up his fourth foul of the night, sending him to the bench for several crucial minutes. Eventually, Harden would foul out just before the 2:00 mark.
This did not stop the Rams, however, as a run from Green, Smith and fellow starter Bryce Jackson allowed the Rams to take their biggest lead of the game at 53-43 with 1:00 to play.
Just as the game seemed to be over, the Falcons wanted to pull a little March Madness of its own.
Within 22 seconds, McNeill and Humphrey closed the game within five at 53-48, An errant pass from Green eventually led to a made three-pointer from Brown to close the game within two, leaving many Rams’ faithful in attendance in disbelief.
A foul by Pebblebrook allowed RJ Wilson to convert on one free-throw to move the game back to 54-51. Good ball movement from the Falcons allowed Humphrey to get the ball back in the paint to bring the game to 54-53 with 0:09 to go.
A heads-up maneuver from Smith cut the clock down to 4.6 seconds before a Falcons foul. The three-star guard had ice in his veins as he converted the final two free-throws of the night to 56-53.
Brown ultimately got to the logo from the inbound pass, but the hail mary shot rimmed out and allowed the Rams to survive the late-game scare and secure the double state title bid for Newton.
Minus his signature white glasses, Browner told The Covington News following the game that the win was for the entire community of Newton County.
“With these guys, I’m just proud of them,” Browner said. “But more so, I always talk about it, our community. This is huge for our community… Coach [Jawan] Bailey told me he was like, ‘Man, I need you to make it with me on Saturday.’ So, man, I guess I’m going to take the trip.”
That trip to Macon next Saturday will be against the top-ranked Wheeler Wildcats, who ended the Grayson Rams’ hopes of a state championship repeat.
But that is not stopping Newton from taking on the challenge.
Neal, who finished with 13 points on the night, said that the Rams can take on any challengers put in front of them.
“This is a great group of guys. We all fit in well together and I feel like we go out there and execute.”
While Neal – who continues to shine in his first playoff series after missing the last two postseasons to injury – and the rest of the squad looks forward to Saturday, Browner wants everyone to know that Newton is not only looking to just make it to the title game, but win it as well.
“These guys have earned it,” Browner said. “People have been doubting this team. They’ve been doubting us… it’s what we are. But like I said, the main thing is, I hope everybody knows where it is, Covington, Georgia. It’s all about Covington. This is for our community.”
