By Daniel Schmidt
MONTGOMERY — After winning their first area tournament championship since the 2014-15 season, the Opelika High School basketball team looked to avenge an earlier defeat against No. 1 Dothan High School in the boys’ 7A central region tournament.
Instead, the Bulldogs’ (23-7) storybook season ended as a second-quarter collapse and uncharacteristically poor three-point shooting doomed them in a 48-33 loss to the Wolves (28-4) on Feb. 20.
OHS head coach Wesley Button chalked up the loss to inconsistency toward the end of both halves and credited DHS for a game plan that involved giving his shooters little or no breathing room.
“Defensively we had a couple possessions in a row where we didn’t play very hard. We were able to generate stops and easy buckets [in the first and third quarters]. But the second and fourth quarters, I always tell the guys we have to put four quarters together. And it’s hard to win whenever you only put two quarters together,” Button said. “Dothan is well coached. Their coach does a good job, and he knows my guys because we played them earlier in the year. Props to them, they’ve got a great team.”
After graduating six seniors from last year’s team and having little proven production returning, Button is hopeful that this run and his players’ effort this offseason is a glimpse of things to come.
“This is going to leave a horrible taste in my mouth for a little while, but hopefully now that we’ve been here, this will make us hungry. Success breeds more success, and I’m hoping that this won’t be our last trip here,” Button said. “I’m excited about the future, and I’m hoping this generates some excitement in the community to where more people are going to want to play basketball.”
While the Wolves’ athleticism and perimeter shooting created early problems, the Bulldogs settled in with a more compact defense and unselfish passing on offense. Late buckets, including a deep three-pointer from Thad Thomas in front of DHS’ bench, and Micah Truitt’s last-second layup gave OHS a 11-9 lead entering the second quarter.
Unfazed, the Wolves battled back to a 20-12 lead with 3:12 left before halftime as they unlocked the Bulldogs’ interior defense with emphatic dunks and made more of their jump shots. A series of undisciplined turnovers by OHS then dug them into a 30-15 hole going into halftime.
Sensing their season slipping away, the Bulldogs collectively put their bodies on the line in a physical, grinding start to the third quarter. After OHS went on a 9-2 run in the opening four minutes, however, DHS managed to regain their footing to set the stage for a make-or-break fourth quarter.
With the Wolves ahead 35-28 going into the final frame, the Bulldogs found themselves with a limited window to secure a spot in the regional championship. However, DHS’ guards and their ability to drive into the lanes proved too much for OHS to overcome in the end.
Caurdae Wright led the Bulldogs with eight points, while Kaleb Baker and Kairi Johnson each contributed six points. Dejiah Coleman led all scorers with 11 points for the Wolves, and Daylan Coleman and Tristinn Johnson both chipped in 10 points.
