Theodore’s J.J. Bush goes between Park Crossing defenders for a shot during Thursday’s Class 6A South Regional semifinals at Garrett Coliseum in Montgomery. (Helen Joyce/Call News)
By JIMMY WIGFIELD
MONTGOMERY — Not long ago, Theodore and Park Crossing seemed to be heading the wrong way at a crossroads in their seasons.
The Bobcats were 6-8 and the Thunderbirds were 7-15 and it seemed neither would even make it out of their area tournaments, much less reach the Class 6A South Regionals.
Theodore then won 12 of 13 games and Park Crossing won six straight, leading them to an unlikely intersection just two games away from the state tournament.
But the Thunderbirds made 7 of 15 three-pointers and the Bobcats led for only the first 21 seconds Thursday night in a 59-49 loss in the regional semifinals at Garrett Coliseum.
“I don’t think I did a good enough job getting them ready,” said Theodore coach Philip Roebling, who fought back tears after emerging from a long postgame meeting with his players. “I’m going to take the blame for the loss. But I thought Park Crossing played absolutely great. They hit seven threes. They handled the pressure and every time we made a run, they answered it. They played better tonight and they deserved to win.”
Junior J.J. Bush had 18 points and 13 rebounds and Howard Cunningham, one of five seniors playing his last game for the Bobcats, added 10 points for Theodore (18-10), which had an eight-game winning streak broken.
The Thunderbirds (14-15) led by as many as 13 points late in the third period before the Bobcats went on a 7-0 run late in the fourth period to cut the lead to 48-42 with 2:43 to go but got no closer as Park Crossing made 6 of its last 8 field goals.
“We were 12-1 in our last 13 games and we were really playing extremely well,” Roebling said. “Unfortunately, we picked a bad night to have an off game. We didn’t play well tonight. This wasn’t the Theodore of the last 13 games but sometimes that happens.”
The Bobcats led 3-0 after three free throws from Cunningham but the Thunderbirds tied it on Bryant Berry’s 3-pointer and never trailed again.
Only a supreme effort on the offensive glass kept Theodore in contention, as it outscored Park Crossing 23-7 off second-chance points with a 24-7 advantage in offensive rebounds. The Bobcats shot just 28% and made just 4 of 24 three-pointers.
“We didn’t shoot the ball very well and I didn’t think we guarded very well at all,” Roebling said. “Defense has been our calling card all year and they got too many easy baskets because I didn’t think we did good enough to guard.”
