Dotson deals Tigers 10-A defeat

MT. PLEASANT — In a game that probably deserved overtime, as crazy as the first 31 minutes and 59 seconds had been, Jeremy Dotson made a quick decision:

Nah.

The Santa Fe junior scored his 32nd, 33rd and 34th points just before the final horn Friday night to give his visiting Wildcats a 66-63 victory over Mt. Pleasant and give the Tigers their first District 10-A loss — just four days after they had won in a very similar fashion at Richland.

“He told us in overtime, get me the ball,” Santa Fe coach Brad Slaughter recounted. “We didn’t have a play for him; we just drew one up. But he said, give me the ball and I’ll make it.

“No matter how many he misses, he’s always ready to shoot the next one.”

To be fair, Dotson hadn’t missed many Friday, connecting on five prior 3-pointers as Santa Fe (10-7, 3-2) gave the league leaders all they wanted and then some following a 59-50 homecourt loss on Jan. 7.

Helping warm Dotson up was the Mt. Pleasant student section, apparently, as they and he got after each other throughout the night.

“He loves it,” Slaughter said. “He always has this game circled on his calendar.”

With each successful 3, Dotson seemed to hold his followthrough just a tick longer than usual — and with good reason. Before the gamewinner, four of his five either gave the Wildcats the lead or extended the margin.

“Coach told me my energy keeps the team going,” he said. “I wasn’t giving up even when they went on a run. We had the energy.

“I was feeling my shot. They left me open some, and the offense moved well. I got enough openings that I could do what I needed to do.”

Mt. Pleasant (16-5, 4-1) trailed 17-14 through the opening period — a margin provided by a Dotson trey — and 32-28 at intermission. The hosts managed a four-point lead in the early stages of the second half, but hardly got comfortable, and another long-range jumper by Dotson made it a 46-45 Tiger lead through three quarters.

His free throw at the 6:50 mark tied the contest, and ensuing foul shots by Colton Steward and Logan Wilkins plus a Wilkins basket restored a five-point Santa Fe cushion with 4:32 to play.

From there, the visitors had Mt. Pleasant on the ropes and in foul trouble. Already having lost Kayne Forest earlier in the period, the Tigers saw Jakob Smith and Tip Marlow foul out within a minute of each other.

Still, the hosts persevered. An unlikely 3-pointer from Demarkus Brown cut the deficit to 61-59 with 58 seconds remaining, and after Andy Slaughter hit one of two free throws, Kentra Frierson — whose buzzer-beating trey downed host Richland 47-44 Tuesday night — drained another from the top of the key and was fouled with 1.8 seconds to go.

However …

A premature celebration resulted in a technical foul being assessed against the Mt. Pleasant bench, giving Santa Fe the chance to win the game after Frierson’s free throw put the Tigers up 63-62.

Slaughter again hit one of two, but the Wildcats had the final possession, and Dotson made it count.

“This may be the craziest game I’ve ever seen,” Brad Slaughter said. “I’ll have to go back and watch the film to wrap my head around all of it. We had the opportunity to ice it twice at the free throw line with our best free throw shooter, and we missed two of four.

“(Both teams) made a ton of mistakes. We just came out on the right side.”

Along with foul trouble, Mt. Pleasant struggled from the foul line, converting just 9 of 21 attempts.

“The No. 1 thing we hopefully take away from this is the importance of adjusting to how the game is being officiated,” Tigers coach Chris Carney said. “It was pretty tight. We like to get up in you, pressure, try to turn you over. We got some of our main guys in foul trouble and had to sit significant minutes. That’s part of the game. You have to make adjustments to how the game is being officiated.”

Frierson finished with 21 points (four 3s) and Keshawn Hudson 11 to lead Mt. Pleasant offensively.

? Quick start keys road win: Santa Fe’s girls scored 16 of the game’s first 18 points and hardly looked back in a 47-34 victory over the Lady Tigers.

Elise Adkison, who’d been sidelined since early December with an ankle sprain, continued to work her way back into playing shape with a game-high 18 points and eight rebounds as the Lady Wildcats improved to 5-12 (3-2).

“We couldn’t have done it without her tonight,” coach Jonathon Slaughter said. “She stepped up big-time, made several big plays we needed.”

Mt. Pleasant (2-17, 0-4) was led offensively by Kielee Bradley’s 10 points.

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Santa Fe girls 47, Mt. Pleasant 34

SF 16 10 8 13 — 47

MP 2 9 13 10 — 34

Santa Fe (47) — Anniston Slaughter 6, Elise Adkison 18, Gracie Mills 2, Emmy Bates 6, Laci Warf 5, Ally Warf 10

Mt. Pleasant (34) — Kielee Bradley 10, Baleigh Gray 7, Emily Crossman 7, Caleigh Chalk 2, Graciee English 8

3-pointers — Santa Fe 2 (L. Warf, A. Warf), Mt. Pleasant 3 (Bradley 2, Crossman)

Santa Fe boys 66, Mt. Pleasant 63

SF 17 15 13 21 — 66

MP 14 14 18 17 — 63

Santa Fe (66) — Logan Wilkins 7, Sammy Caudle 2, Colton Steward 5, Jeremy Dotson 34, Andy Slaughter 12, Will Monhollen 2, Westin McClanahan 2, Tannery Bryan 2

Mt. Pleasant (63) — Kentra Frierson 21, Tip Marlow 9, Demarkus Brown 3, Keshawn Hudson 11, Kayne Forest 7, Collyn Foshee 2, Jakob Smith 10

3-pointers — Santa Fe 7 (Dotson 6, Slaughter), Mt. Pleasant 8 (Frierson 4, Brown, Hudson, Smith 2)