By Donald Heath
Special for the Effingham Herald
Effingham County’s boys broke even in their recent two-game basketball trip to Marietta, but may have made huge gains in the long run.
Coach Tramaine Aaron said the holiday games gave his players some new, shared experiences. They had a chance to see how basketball is played and officiated in a different part of the state. More importantly, they had a chance to bond.
“You have a chance to get out of town, away from the things you know, and you have each other,” Aaron said. “It can build character and togetherness.”
The Rebels also found a renewed push after a 13-day break. They rallied from a 23-point deficit to defeat Pope 53-52 on Friday before losing to Class 6A’s eighth-ranked Walton 73-43 on Saturday.
The victory against Pope was ECHS’ high point during an up-and-down 6-7 start. Elyjah Doty, a 6-foot-4, junior forward, followed up his missed shot with a putback basket at the buzzer to complete the comeback.
It was a strong rebound win after being at a low point following the 44-25 loss to Savannah Christian the last time out on Dec. 21.
It also helped to have guards Anthony “Tre” Davis and Noah Reese back. Davis, a starter at point guard, missed several games with a foot injury.
“(For the Marietta games) we went through some detailed stuff – scouting the opponents and preparing like we would for a subregion opponent,” Aaron said. “The stakes are going to be higher going forward and this gave (the Rebels) a good lead in to the subregion.”
For the Rebels’ second-year coach, the weekend trip was a return to familiar surroundings. Aaron grew up in Marietta and played at nearby Wheeler High School, helping his school win state championships in 2002 and 2003.
Aaron played with Walton coach Bo Abney at Berry College and played against Pope coach Patrick Abney, who played collegiately at Kennesaw State University.
“It was nice to come back home and see friends and family, see old pictures of back in the day,” Aaron said. “It was nice for my players to see where I played.”
Aaron and the Rebels began Region 1-5A North play on the road against Lakeside on Dec. 7. ECHS returns to Springfield for a game against Greenbrier on Friday.
ECHS girls drop two games
The Effingham County girls also made the trip to Marietta and played against Pope and Walton. The Lady Rebels lost to Pope on Friday, 57-31, before falling to Walton 71-28.
The Lady Rebels (1-9) have lost eight in a row heading into subregion play.
