‘A HECK OF A SEASON': South Walton drops a close one to Tigers in regional semi contest (PHOTOS)

GRACEVILLE — In a fight to the finish, the South Walton Seahawks came up short 54-50 to the Graceville Tigers in the 1-A Region semifinals in Graceville.

“It was a dogfight to the end,” said South Walton Coach John Davies as he walked off the court.

“They’re a very fast and very good defensive team,” he said of the Tigers. Nevertheless, Davies was quick to point out that it was a “good defensive struggle” and that his Seahawks played a good game and lost by only four points.

“The third quarter is what hurt us,” he said. Turnovers plagued the Seahawks in the third quarter, with the Tigers converting on at least three.

“But I thought we steadied ourselves … just not enough. It was a heck of season for these guys,” Davies said. The Seahawks finished up with a 14-15 record.

To start, South Walton came out and took the early lead with Shafer Martin and Paxton Dixon hitting back-to-back 3-pointers. Graceville finally got on the board at the 5:04 mark with a bucket followed by a 3-pointer for a 6-5 game.

South Walton’s Casey Palmer drew a foul and hit both shots and then came back with a drive to the basket for a 10-5 advantage. Graceville cut it to a one-point game with a basket from Isan Britt and an inside shot by Diquan Johnson. South Walton led 10-9 at the buzzer.

In the second, the scoring went back and forth with Edward Howard and Dixon swishing a couple of 3s along the way. With 3:08 to go in the period, Graceville’s Malik Franklin nailed a shot to tie the game at 21-21. South Walton’s Dixon hit a free throw to go up by one, but with seven seconds left on the clock Diquan Johnson worked his way inside for a basket and a 23-22 mark at the half.

The Seahawks came out soaring in the third with Martin taking it to the hole on the first trip down the floor, followed by a jumper from Palmer. Martin came back with an inside shot for a 28-23 go ahead. But that would be the last lead for the Seahawks. Graceville’s Marquis White, who finished with 14 points, came on strong with two inside baskets. Rasheed Campbell put the Tigers back on top with a pair of free throws. The Tigers picked off a couple of Seahawk passes and cashed in for quick baskets and a 33-28 lead as the home-crowd erupted.

In the last three minutes, South Walton closed it down on shots from Martin, Bishop Waldrop and Howard, but they couldn’t stop the Tigers. Graceville led 41-35 at the end of three.

In the fourth, the Seahawks again had an early surge with Howard and Waldrop hitting back-to-back shots to close it down to three. But that was as close as it would get. The Tigers made a little seven-point run about midway of the period, but the Seahawks hung in there with Howard knocking down a pair of 3s, but it wasn’t enough to gain the lead.

For the game, White led the Tigers with 14 points. Johnson hit for 12 and Merritt added 10.

Tops for the Seahawks was Howard with 15 points. Martin hit double digits with 13 points. Dixon scored seven, while Palmer and Waldrop each tossed in six.