The Dalton Catamounts and the King’s Ridge Tigers battled their way through the Gordon Lee Christmas Tournament and met each other in the final round. Along the way, both teams were worn down by the competition after a grueling three-day stretch.
But King’s Ridge had enough fuel left in the tank to upset the previously undefeated Catamounts in a 39-25 slug fest.
“We have played five games in six days,” said King’s Ridge head coach Bob Martin about his team’s fatigue. “We had two games, one day off on the road, and then three (games) in a row here.”
With countless amounts of gametime minutes riding on the backs of the Tigers it would take a special player to step up to play against an undefeated Dalton squad, whose depth outnumbered the Tigers’ bench (Dalton is classified as 5-A in GHSA, King’s Ridge is 1-A Private). That special player for King’s Ridge was none other than 6-foot-10-inch junior William Jobe.
“He (Jobe) has been out with a sprained ankle, so he has been chomping at the bit (to play). He is hungry,” said coach Martin. “Jobe was a bright spot tonight. He was the guy with fresh legs tonight. He did a great job on their big.”
Jobe proved to be ready. Coming off the bench, the towering stretch-big had nine points, all 3-pointers, and kept momentum in the Tigers' favor. Although Jobe could not get the lid of the basket in the first quarter, he began to nail shots in the remaining three quarters to give King’s Ridge the shooting edge.
More impressive, though, was his ability, alongside center Micah Hoover, was their ability to lock down the Catamounts’ attack. After Dalton leaped out to a quick lead, the rotation and teamwork by the two Tiger big men held the Catamounts to less than 10 points in each quarter.
“We brought the intensity on defense. We were not taking good shots, but we were making them take bad shots all game,” said Jobe. “We were getting in the gaps, forcing them to make hard passes, shots, and always had a hand up in their face.”
As for the offense, point guard Isaac Martin facilitated rotating players and made sure the ball swung around the perimeter. Martin showed off his basketball IQ, which appears to have been inherited from his father, the head coach, and kept the Dalton defense guessing all night. If the Catamounts attempted to trap, Martin would be able to pass it out. On a drive, he was quick to react on whether to take the layup or pass it out to the 3-point line.
“We took a lot of good shots,” said Jobe. “A lot of them did not go down, but when we get good looks, they will go down (eventually).”
King’s Ridge, from Alpharetta, Georgia, traveled two hours to play in the Gordon Lee Christmas Tournament. As a result, they pack away another trophy to their resume, prepare for a short break for the holidays, and travel to Savannah, Georgia for more tournament action. The team lives and breathes basketball. The Tigers might not be the flashiest team, but they are one of the smartest. They will outwork you for 48 minutes a night in and night out.
DALTON 7 6 4 8 — 25
KING’S RIDGE 6 11 15 7 — 39
DALTON (25) – Ramsey 8, Burt 5, Anderson 4, Snyder 4, Storey 2, Cooper 2
KING’S RIDGE (39) – Micah Hoover 14, Jobe 9, Martin 5, Kittredge 3, Cole 3, J. Thomas 3, Z. Thomas 2
3-point goals: Dalton 2 (Burt, Anderson); King’s Ridge 6 (Jobe 3, J. Thomas, Cole, Kittredge)