No. 6: Bearcats almost pulled shocker over Ramsay

Published 8:11 pm Monday, December 26, 2005

Entering the Class 5A Northwest Regional semifinals, the Cullman Bearcats were huge underdogs against the fourth-ranked Ramsay Rams.

The Bearcats had a 21-9 record but were considered a Cinderella squad that had already exceeded exceptions.

“Most definitely they have exceeded my expectations,” said Cullman coach Mike Dean leading up to the game. “I think they have even exceeded the fans’ expectations. People who were involved and know basketball said that this team has overachieved because we have good chemistry.”

The first half went according to plan for Ramsay, as the Rams went on an 11-0 run midway through the second quarter to take a 14-point advantage at 33-19. The Bearcats made only one field goal in the period — a trey by Zac Tucker — as the Rams took a 36-24 halftime lead.

But Cullman started to turn things around in the second half.

Thanks to a 3-point play from Dylan Smith and a trey from Kevin Artist, the Bearcats outscored Ramsay 17-7 to cut the deficit to 43-41 entering the fourth quarter.

“It’s a game of momentum,” Ramsay coach Kelly Cheatham said, “and they took the momentum in the third quarter and on into the fourth quarter.”

With the Cullman crowd fired up and the players feeling momentum turning, the Bearcats defense buckled down. Cullman’s defense held Ramsay without a field goal in the final quarter in regulation as the game’s lead changed hands six times in the final 5:23.

Ramsay shot 10-of-14 from the free throw line to hold a 53-51 advantage with 4.5 seconds remaining in the game. But Cullman senior guard Kolby Lawrence drove the length of the floor and was fouled while going up for a shot as time expired. Lawrence stepped to the line all alone for two shots which could send the game to overtime.

Lawrence, who had struggled from the line early in the season, nailed both shots.

“I watched the first one,” Dean said of the free throws. “I couldn’t watch the second one, but I could hear by the crowd’s reaction that he made it.”

Lawrence credited his work in practice for helping him make the pressure-packed shots from the charity stripe.

“I haven’t been in a situation like that before … not that big with the season on the line,” Lawrence said after the game. “I thought if I miss this one, that’s our season, I’ve been working on free throws all year. It came down to that, and all that work paid off for me.”

But despite holding Ramsay without a field goal in overtime, the Rams hit eight free throws in the extra frame to eventually win 61-53.

Smith finished with a team-high 14 points for Cullman, while Jesse Bouldin added 11 points. Taurus Dortch led the Rams with 26 points.

Despite falling short of the Elite Eight, Dean said at the end of the season those Bearcats were one of the top squads in school history.

“I think this was one of the best teams that played at Cullman,” Dean said the following week. “We didn’t have anyone overly talented like Richard Hendrix of Athens, but these guys came together and their performance at a high level says it all. Sometimes chemistry is more important than talent.”

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