Carver puts its past behind in easy win over Valley
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After a year-long probationary period, it was back to "just" basketball for Craig Sword and the Carver Wolverines and Valley High School. (Photo by Dennis Victory). To order more photos of this or other games, visit www.kdpsportsphotos.com Staff Report The G.W. Carver Wolverines played nearly flawless basketball in their 70-47 victory over Valley in Wednesday’s Class 5A Central Regional semifinal game at Alabama State’s Acadome. The story was not about what happened during the game but before and after. One year after an altercation between the two teams and fans that caused both to be placed on probation, the two teams were back on the same court but with new attitudes. In some ways, the game itself was anticlimactic. "I think we finally have all this behind us," said Carver coach James "J.J." Jackson said. "It’s just about basketball from the first jump ball. We’ll be a lot better, hopefully.” The teams met at midcourt prior to the tipoff and shook hands. The display of sportsmanship took the place of the usual captains’ meeting. “Once the game began, it was like any other game,” Craig Sword said. “It was basketball… the playoffs.” Once the game started, it was all Carver. The Wolverines overpowered Valley in nearly every facet of the game. After the Rams took a 21-20 lead in the second quarter, Carver outscored Valley, 31-10. “We were aggressive,” Jackson said. “We wanted to play hard and I think we were motivated to play hard. I was real proud of the team, our fans, our coaching staff. I think we can put this behind us now.” Up next, the Wolverines (21-1) face the only team to beat them this year in Selma. The Saints were impressive in their win over Talladega. “They have a great team,” Jackson said. “They beat us at our place in the area championship. They are quick and very strong defensively. It’s been a great rivalry.” Sword led Carver in scoring on Wednesday with 20 points. Enrique Johnson added 14. Teon Jones led Valley (20-4) with 14 points. |
