Special to the Herald
The 16u Effingham Grizzlies are the KB Sports National Championship in Atlanta.
More than 300 teams were in the tournament July 26-28, and the local Grizzlies took all of them down. The fourth year that this group has been together has proven to be a critical step in the process as a team. Grizzlies were not given any favors from the schedule makers as they knew to win the championship that they would have to take on back-to-back games.
The Grizzlies started the final Sunday with a tough win over the Georgia Bombers. The Bombers were a bigger team, but the Grizzlies took on that challenge. Javonte’ Brown’s tough defense on the Bombers top scorer led a turnover and bucket to put the Grizzlies in the lead that they never relinquished. Brown had to leave the game due to a bloody lip, but that was when the trio of Elyjah Doty, Noah Reese, and Jordan Drayton attacked the hoop for buckets.
When the Bombers defense gave them an opportunity to shoot, they nailed their shots. Braxton Hixson’s energy on the defensive side came off the bench and led to a few easy baskets as they squashed the Bombers’ hopes to win the entire thing.
The championship game was a complete team effort especially on the defensive side. The Grizzlies dominated in a 1-3-1 defense and took away any easy baskets. Donovan Ridgley playing on the back side of the zone sprinted from corner to corner causing bad basketball shots from Ashburn Elite.
Noah Reese drained a three to take an early lead and the defense finished the job. Jacob Garvin slashed to the hoop for a layup and the vibe was there. At halftime, Assistant Coach Isaiah Lee told the boys to keep up with the defense and put the game away and they did!
Avery Billington, the freshman from South Effingham, came off the bench causing havoc on the defensive side with his long reach to close out the game to cap the National Championship. The defense was on point and limited Ashburn Elite to only two points in the second half. “Defense and rebounding are core pillars of success. The reason is that they never go into slumps as they are all about effort.” said Coach Bryan Webster at the Grizzlies’ banquet.
This group of players is the original Effingham Grizzlies age group that started four seasons ago. Elyjah Doty, Drayton and Ridgley are the remaining original Grizzlies and have experienced the climb to the top. The initial season of the Grizzlies ended on that same floor in Atlanta with a 40-point defeat.
The Grizzlies celebrated their season as a complete program that currently has seven teams from the fourth grade and higher along with a fifth-grade girls’ team. The season awards were handed out at Rincon Church of God at the second-annual banquet. Reese was selected the “most valuable player”. Doty and Braxton Hixson were selected “offensive players of the year”. Javonte’ Brown was selected “most improved player” and “defensive player of the year”. Jordan Drayton was selected as “PEAK player of the year”; and Jacob Garvin was selected the “sixth man of the year”.
