Athens (6-12, 5-5 Tri-Valley Conference) was up by double digits when coach Mickey Cozart made the call to send all four seniors into the game with two minutes to go. As the clock wound down to one minute left, he made one final substitution call. He sent in a mix of juniors and sophomores to express his gratitude to the oldest members and leaders of the team as well as to the future of Bulldogs basketball.
The Bulldogs honored seniors Clay Boeninger, Derrick Welsh, Jake Goldsberry and Sam Goldsberry in more ways than one Tuesday night. After the balloons left center court, the Bulldogs earned their final conference win at home: a 58-36 victory over River Valley (3-12, 2-5 TVC).
“It’s important to win on senior night,” Cozart said. “I don’t think we’ve lost on senior night yet since I’ve taken over.”
The Bulldogs outshined the Raiders with the help of shooting guard Landon Wheatley. Wheatley was a weapon in the paint and at the 3-point line. He recorded a season-high 27 points and single-handedly outscored River Valley in the first quarter.
Another trick up Athens' sleeve was Welsh. The center was a scoring threat early and totaled 14 points, but he also was an asset defensively. He recovered multiple rebounds and disrupted countless shots in the paint.
“Derrick’s been a force all year,” Cozart said. “He averages a double-double … and the kid can’t come out. We don’t have another big (man) to send in the game, so he has to play the full time. We ask a lot out of him.”
After a dominant first half, the Bulldogs led the Raiders 33-15. However, the Bulldogs stellar gameplay stalled out at the beginning of the second half.
River Valley opened the second half with an 8-0 run. Athens suffered from poor ball handling and its quick, deliberate passing game from the first half began to deteriorate as result. Athens was beginning to cower.
“We had a lapse there in the third (quarter),” Cozart said. “We got real lazy with the basketball. Instead of being aggressive, we were trying to pass through things, and we should have been attacking.”
Despite the Bulldogs’ difficulties in the third quarter, the Raiders' success mostly came by capitalizing off turnovers. The Bulldogs’ defense remained strong and, as the game entered the fourth quarter, they were making smarter decisions with the ball and retaining possession once again.
With the victory, Athens adds one more conference win to its resume and solidifies a three-game winning streak — the longest, and only, winning streak of its season.
“We’ve been playing pretty well,” Cozart said. “This team’s been a different squad since (winter) break. It just took us longer to get to where we need to be."
