Mosby's late three sends Chatt Tech to GCAA semifinals
SMYRNA, Ga. – Former Cartersville Hurricane, now a sophomore guard with the Golden Eagles, A.J. Mosby hit a three-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining to give Chattahoochee Tech an 81-79 win Tuesday night in the GCAA tournament quarterfinals. The back-and-forth game featured 12 ties and 22 lead changes and saw the fourth-seeded Golden Eagles come back from a 41-36 halftime deficit.
After Chattahoochee Tech (22-9) took a 78-77 lead on a Trevin Steede tip-in with 43 seconds to play, Atlanta Metro countered with a lay-up with 20 seconds remaining. On the Golden Eagles’ final possession, a missed Corey Tobin three led to a scramble for the ball, which was eventually picked up by Steede and tossed to Mosby in the corner. Mosby, who finished as the game-high scorer with 29 points, rose up to hit his fourth three of the game to fend off the No. 5 seed Trailblazers. The game’s final possession ended with a deflection of the Atlanta Metro inbounds pass.
Mosby, recently named to the GCAA all-conference first team for the second year in a row, was 10-of-18 from the field, 4-of-9 from three and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line. He added three rebounds, four assists and two steals in just over 37 minutes played.
Ryan Davis (Cartersville HS) added 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting, seven rebounds and three steals, and Keith Ray (Hillgrove HS) had 12 points and seven rebounds. Steede (Wheeler HS) contributed eight points on 3-of-5 shooting, and Tobin (Cartersville HS) had six points and three rebounds.
The Golden Eagles withstood outstanding individual efforts by Carnilious Simmons (25 pts, 13 rbds, 2 blks, 2 stls) and Fred Galloway Jr. (10 pts, 18 rbds) of Atlanta Metro.
The first-round meeting between Chattahoochee Tech and Atlanta Metro was the second straight, as Tuesday’s win avenges a 76-74 home loss to the Trailblazers in last year’s GCAA tourney.
The Golden Eagles move on to the semifinals, where they will travel to conference No. 1 seed Georgia Highlands on Friday for a 7:30 p.m. tip in Rome. Georgia Highlands, which went undefeated in conference at 16-0 and is fresh off a 104-95 win over No. 8 seed East Georgia State, ranked the No. 2 in NJCAA Division I. The Golden Eagles have dropped the teams’ two previous meetings, 87-77 on the road and 91-85 at home.
