Knights end season with loss at state tourney

Evans saw one of the best seasons in Columbia County history come to an end Friday night in Columbus with a 68-46 loss to Douglas County in the AAAA State Tournament's second round.

Evans' season ended with a 24-6 overall record.

"Recordwise, I think it's the best at the school," Evans coach Kevin Kenny said. "If not the best, they rank up there pretty high."

The Knights swept the rest of Columbia County this season with a perfect 9-0 record. They finished second in the Region 2-AAAA Tournament and defeated Lee County 88-78 in the first round of the state tournament.

It all came to an end in Friday night's loss to Douglas County.

"The biggest thing that hurt us was that inexperience," Kenny said. "It's the first time these guys have been here. We came out a little tight."

The Knights fell behind early and trailed 7-0 with 3:46 left in the first quarter. Junior Matt Clark broke the ice on a lay-up seconds later and, in the next five minutes, Evans nailed five 3-pointers. Douglas County led by only one point with 4:54 left in the half.

Evans junior Brandon Durr scored eight straight points in the Knights' comeback.

"Brandon can score. He's one of the better guards in the Augusta area," Kenny said.

The comeback didn't last, however, as Douglas County took a 10-point lead at halftime. Tiger senior Ricky Dobbs hit a fade-away jumper at the buzzer to end the third quarter with a 14-point advantage. Douglas County outscored Evans 18-10 in the fourth quarter.

Evans senior Glenn Miller led the Knights with 14 points on two 3-pointers while Durr added 13 points.

Douglas County's Mark Harp hurt Evans the most with a 24-point performance.

Despite the loss, Kenny said the trip to Columbus was still valuable to the Evans basketball program. On the Knight's 15-man roster, seven are seniors. Kenny said the remaining eight earned state tournament experience that he hopes will spur a return trip next year.

"Even if they didn't play, they got a taste of the state tournament," he said. "It was still a good trip."