Mitchell dazzles to help advance Liberty County
FORT VALLEY, GA —Liberty County started the Class AAAA semifinal against Lithonia on a 16-0 run. The crowd at Fort Valley State University was caught up in Panther-mania and things were looking great for the kids from Hinesville.
But Lithonia wasn’t going to sit back and be a spectator. No, not at this stage of the season. It was go time and the Bulldogs responded with a 14-0 run of their own. The game tied at 25 but that was as close as it got.
That 16 point cushion was enough for Liberty County to hold on for the 81-65 win to advance to the state championship game in Macon next week.
Hinesville, GA
Liberty County junior guard Davion Mitchell played like a top 40 national prospect, and maybe even better than that. The future Auburn guard pumped in a game-high 33 points on 9-12 FG and he hit five three-pointers in the win. Mitchell was also great as a distributor, handing out nine assists in the win.
Mitchell’s performance was dazzling.
“We knew that team was going to be good so we had to make some runs. We knew they have shooters,” Mitchell said. “We had to play rowdy to win.”
That they did. Mitchell sewed things together with a beautiful mix of scoring and passing throughout. Richard LeCounte, Mitchell’s long-time running mate, added 17 points in the win. The future Georgia football player was relentless to the basket all game long.
Liberty County has only lost once this season, falling to region foe Statesboro 75-74 in a double overtime game at the start of December. The Panthers have only had three wins this season that were less than five points since that early season loss. The team is winning games by 20 points a contest since that stretch.
“After that loss to Statesboro we had to settle down and just play. We couldn’t lose no more,” Mitchell said. “We had to play hard and stay with what we do. Statesboro slowed us down and didn't let us run. We just came out and made sure we ran.”
Lithonia wasn’t going to make things easy for Liberty County. Truth be told, the Bulldogs played quite well after the 16-0 start to the game. Senior guard Tyheem Freeman was a nice blend of three-pointers and scores at the rim. He finished with a team high 21 points in the loss.
Big man Jacara Cross was terrific in the paint as a scorer, logging 16 points (8-12 FG) and blocked five shots. Chattanooga bound point guard Rodney Chatman scored 11 and had five assists. Cortez Roberson also played well for the Bulldogs.
Liberty County will play the winner of Grady-Jonesboro on Thursday, March 3 at 8:45 p.m. for the AAAA state championship.
