Gators blow up Fort; Lexington next | Sports | Our Gazette

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Gators blow up Fort; Lexington next

Published Tuesday, February 23, 2010 11:19 PM

By Rob Gantt
The Gazette

photo by Rob Gantt

Goose Creek’s James Robinson shoots over Fort Dorchester’s R.J. Slawson from the lane and watches the shot fall in to give the Gators a 24-point lead in the fourth quarter.

photo by Rob Gantt

Goose Creek’s cheerleading squad yells for the Gators in the second half of the team’s 63-39 win over Fort Dorchester Tuesday.

Whatever bad habits or propensity for drama the Goose Creek boys basketball team might have developed in the first two rounds were nowhere to be found Tuesday night.

The Gators extended their win streak to 14 games with a remarkably easy 63-39 victory over Fort Dorchester in the third round of the Class AAAA playoffs. Goose Creek (23-3) raced out to an 18-3 lead less than seven minutes into the game and never had to check the rearview mirror, a stark contrast in performances from the big comebacks in the first and second rounds.

They rallied from 13 down to edge South Florence 61-56 in the first round and were down by 15 to Irmo before pulling out a 73-69 overtime win Saturday.

“I thought we came out tense the first two games,” Goose Creek coach Brad Dobbels said. “I just said ‘fellas, let’s go out and have some fun and play Goose Creek basketball and defend every possession and see what happens.’ When we do that, we’re a pretty good basketball team.”

Fort Dorchester (22-4) never got closer than 11 points the rest of the way and Goose Creek was able to deliver the knockout blow in the third quarter.

The Patriots trailed only 29-17 with 6:18 left in the third after Laurez Matthews knocked down a 3-pointer from the wing but Goose Creek put its foot on the pedal again, going on a 15-4 run to end the period.

Devontae Wright’s 3-pointer with two seconds left in the third put the Gators up 44-21 and the fourth quarter was mere formality. Goose Creek continued building the lead and was able to get deep into its bench. Fan favorite Jacob Carson, a 6-foot, 8-inch backup post player, threw down a dunk late in the game and got a technical for hanging on the rim too long but the victory celebration was already under way.

“Right there at the end of the third, you could kind of see the drain from them,” Dobbels said. “We were opening it up a little bit and they didn’t pressure the ball. I felt we were fairly in control.”

The Gators will meet Lexington in Friday’s Lower State final at The Citadel. The Wildcats defeated Sumter 67-61 Tuesday to earn their ticket into McAlister Fieldhouse. It figures to feel a lot like home because the Goose Creek girls team will play the game before.

“It will be good to see how many Goose Creek people we can put in there Friday night, and maybe we can have that place rocking,” Dobbels said. “… To win the game like this gives our team a lot of confidence.”

Forward Louis Williams led the Gators with 14 points and Wright and James Robinson added 13 points apiece. Raemond Robinson chipped in eight points.

Wright, a future Bulldog, was named all-state by the coaches association earlier in the day.

As part of an overall splendid defensive effort, the Gators limited South Carolina signee R.J. Slawson to just 12 points. Slawson, who was also selected all-state Tuesday, had a follow dunk in the opening seconds of the game but wasn’t a real factor offensively. He had just four points in the second half and fouled out with 1:55 left.

“After he got that putback dunk early in the game, I just told the guys that we needed to get a body on him and not let him get easy shots,” Dobbels said. “We did a pretty good job with that. That was the key.”

Matthews added 10 points for the Patriots and Troy Bryant chipped in seven points.

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