Goldston's 3 lifts Highlands to Elite Eight

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Montrel Goldston buried a 3-pointer with less than five seconds left on the clock to catapult Georgia Highlands past the College of Southern Idaho, 67-66, and into the Elite Eight of the NJCAA Men’s’ Basketball Tournament on Wednesday night in Hutchinson, Kansas.

“It’s amazing. We knew we could play with them. They are the eighth ranked team in the country, and we have a lot of respect for them,” Highlands Coach Phil Gaffney said in a phone interview. “When we watched tape, we knew we could play with them. We had a whole week to prepare for Butler, and we only had a day to prepare for Southern Idaho. But we made it work.”

Goldston led the Chargers in scoring with 13 points but none of his baskets were any more important than the last.

Highlands appeared to have a good chance to take a lead with the score tied at 64 with less than a minute to go, but a drive toward the basket ended in a Highlands’ turnover.

Southern Idaho answered on the opposite end with a basket in the paint, taking a 66-64 lead with 20.7 seconds remaining in the game.

Trailing by two, the Chargers didn’t seem to be in any hurry looking for a weakness in the Southern Idaho defense. Doniel Dean dribbled the ball above the 3-point line before passing the ball to Ty Toney.

Toney dribbled toward the 3-point line and two Southern Idaho defenders collapsed on him. Without hesitation, Toney hit Goldston with a pass.

Goldston, standing on the far right side, launched the 3-pointer and hit nothing but net. Highlands’ players celebrated for a moment but regrouped in enough time to keep Southern Idaho from getting a solid shot off before time expired.

“There is a play we call Davidson. We specifically drew it up for Toney or Goldston, whoever gets the better look. Dean is one of our better passers, and he’s tall. We had him use a screen from Council to penetrate,” Gaffney said. “Toney had to decide whether to shoot or pass. He caught it, shot faked and the chaser came out and guarded him. The play worked exactly like it was supposed to and Goldston was wide open and he made the shot. Sometimes it works the way we draw it up.”

The win moves Highlands into the Elite Eight of the NJCAA Tournament tonight at 9 p.m. in Hutchinson, Kansas where they will meet the No. 6 seed Hutchinson, which will playing on its home court.

Goldston led the Chargers with in points and also had three assists and three steals. Terrence Thompson scored 11 points for Highlands and added five rebounds. Toney also scored 11 points and had four assists. Dean finished with 10 points four rebounds and three steals.

This marked the second-straight day where Toney had the ball with time running out and made a solid pass to a teammate, who ended up winning the game.

On Tuesday, Toney’s pass to Donovan Harris resulted in Harris being fouled and he hit two free throws to give Highlands the win.

On Wednesday, Toney’s pass found an open Goldston waiting to drain the game-winning shot.

Highlands’ tenacious defense again gave their opponent fits, as the Chargers forced 26 turnovers. The Chargers again played with foul trouble as three players finished with four fouls and one, Paris Ballinger, fouled out.

Other Chargers scoring included Harris (7), Taquan Givens (6), Denzel Council (5) and Ballinger (4).

Highlands (29-6) has now knocked off No. 14 Butler and No. 3 Southern Idaho. The Chargers now face No. 6 Hutchinson for the right to advance to Friday’s Final Four.

“I think the one thing we have done is we have defended the teams we have played well. (Southern Idaho) averages over 90 a game and we held them under 70 and we forced 26 turnovers,” Gaffney said. “That means you are really defending. Last night, we forced 25 turnovers. If we do that, it gives us an opportunity to stay in the game.”

Source: Rome News

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