South edges Southeast with big fourth quarter

A 15-point comeback was lucky to make the top five most exciting and interesting aspects of South’s fourth quarter against Southeast on Tuesday.

That happened in less than two minutes. The other six minutes, particularly the final four, provided even more highlights.

Everything went right for South in the final eight minutes as the Titans rallied for an 83-79 win at home.

D’Andre Adkism carried South for the most important moments of the quarter and Titans center Remy Lemovou finished off a triple-double with 26 points, 15 rebounds and 10 blocks, the final three coming in the fourth.

Their efforts canceled out another superb game from Southeast’s Israel Barnes, who scored 42 points but was held to one basket in the fourth quarter.

“When you’ve got a high-scoring team like that, everybody knows Southeast has a lot of offensive power,” South coach Chuck Gunter said. “I told the boys, ‘It’s time to lock down, play defense. If they take a shot, make it a tough shot for them.’ ”

Southeast led 65-50 with 6:19 to go after five consecutive points by Barnes, who had a stretch of 11 straight Southeast points during his 17-point third quarter.

South’s rally started with a three-point play by Malcolm Tate. Two baskets by Lemovou and a three-point play from Adkism cut Southeast’s lead to 65-60, and the comeback gained even more steam following a delay-of-game technical foul on Southeast.

Adkism made the two free throws that followed and scored the next seven South points after that, tying the game 67-67 with 4:20 to play.

“I saw the opponent that was guarding me and I smelled blood,” Adkism said. “He didn’t want to guard me, so I took that as an advantage.

Adkism made all four of his shots and all five of his free throws in the fourth quarter. He finished with 25 points, six rebounds and zero turnovers and still may not have grabbed top billing from his teammate.

Lemovou is a raw, 6-foot-8 junior who may have come closer to becoming a finished product on Tuesday. He was active on the glass, grabbing nine offensive rebounds and converting many for second-chance points.

He never quite swayed Southeast against driving the lane, but his 10 blocks made it nearly impossible. He helped seal the game by making 4 of 6 free throws late.

“Monster game,” Gunter said. “I just told him to be ready to step up every night and play to the best of your ability. He’s getting better. Big difference from the first night we played Southeast.”

The teams traded the lead over the final four minutes until South seized it for good with 39 seconds to go. Southeast tied it 77-77 on Tre Campbell’s three-pointer with about a minute left, but South scored six of the final eight points.

After making 8 of 19 free throws in the first three quarters, South made 16 of 21 in the fourth and limited Barnes, who dominated the third quarter.

Barnes was canceled out in the fourth by Adkism and Lemovou, who combined to make 18 of 25 shots on the night.

“We had to stay aggressive,” Gunter said. “Southeast, with the high-powered offensive team they’ve got, we had to stay aggressive. Get the most out of our guys and try to wear them down the best we can.”

This story was originally published January 24, 2017 at 10:32 PM with the headline "South edges Southeast with big fourth quarter."