5 Key Questions: No. 6 Cross Creek vs. LaFayette

<p>It was a tale of two halves as R6 #1 LaFayette (25-3) built a 31-16 lead at the half against R3 #1 No. 6 Cross Creek (24-6). The bigger, longer and more athletic Razorbacks struggled with LaFayette’s fundamental and unselfish play. In the second half, Cross Creek came out with a disciplined approach and punched the ball inside and kept LaFayette out of the lane to get back into the game and eventually make history by earning a trip to the Class 4A Final Four with a 58-55 win in a hostile environment.</p> <h4><strong>Which Cross Creek will show up in the Final 4?</strong></h4> <p>Cross Creek has survived and advanced. They beat defending state champion Carver-Columbus in Round 1 58-51 before rallying late to outlast Marist 34-32 before Tuesday’s most recent white-knuckle ride. The Razorbacks can’t continue to fall behind early and play catch up anymore. In the first half Cross Creek was undisciplined and lazy on defense. Their length was rendered useless as there were massive holes in the defense while close outs and rotations were way too slow. The Razorbacks, who deploy a handful of 6-foot-6 forwards and have good size across the board, fell in love with the three and nearly shot themselves out of the playoffs. But in the second half, the Razorbacks did exactly what they were supposed to. They started pounding the ball inside to <strong>Corey Trotter</strong> and <strong>Markell Ware</strong> to erase a 15-point halftime deficit. Defensively, they played with effort and shut down driving lanes and changed the momentum of the game. If Cross Creek plays focused for an entire 32 minutes and plays to their strengths, they will be heading to Macon next week, but if they are easily coaxed into too many jumpers and refuse to establish their bigs and defend for full possessions, they will need some more second half magic to make it to the title game.</p> <h4><strong>How did Cross Creek comeback?</strong></h4> <p>Aside from the schematics of getting the ball inside and keeping LaFayette out of the lane, it was senior <strong>Andre Herbert</strong> who made the biggest impact defensively. The 6-foot-1 guard didn’t play a whole lot in the first half but started the second half and was tasked with defending <strong>Jaylon Ramsey</strong>, who killed the Razorbacks with penetration and dump offs. Herbert provided a masterful effort using his quickness, length and physicality to keep Ramsey and the other Rambler guards out of the lane. Herbert finished with 4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals. Without Herbert setting the tone defensively in the second half, Cross Creek very well may have been sitting at home this weekend.</p> <h4><strong>Did LaFayette earn some respect?</strong></h4> <p>Coming out of Class 4A’s weakest region, LaFayette has struggled to find a home in the Top 10 even after winning 97 games over the past four seasons. The Ramblers definitely caught Cross Creek’s attention after demoralizing them in the first half. The Ramblers hustled, played with energy and overall made smart basketball plays to build their 15-point lead. Senior post <strong>Asa Deal </strong>provided a memorable last game, scoring a game-high 18 points, 13 coming in the first half as 5-foot-8 sophomore <strong>Jaylon Ramsey </strong>broke down the Cross Creek defense and got in the lane at will leading to a handful of easy Deal layups. Ramsey finished with 13 points and 6 assists.  Star players 6-foot-5 junior <strong>DeCameron Porter </strong>and 6-foot-4 sophomore <strong>Aidan Hadaway </strong>had solid games but never could take over offensively. Porter posted 11 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocks as a long forward that played hard on both ends. Hadaway, another athletic swingman, contributed 10 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 blocks. With Ramsey, Porter and Hadaway coming back, the Ramblers will be among the favorites to win Region 6-AAA, a new group that will present more challenges.</p> <h4><strong>What is Presbyterian getting in <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/kobe-stewart/">Kobe Stewart</a>?</strong></h4> <p>It was good to get my first glimpse of 6-foot-6 wing <strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/kobe-stewart/">Kobe Stewart</a></strong>. The Augusta product is a smooth scorer. Stewart can fall in love with his jumper, but it is a good shot. He only made one three on the day and made more of an effort in the second half to glide to the rim where LaFayette struggled to stop him unless Porter or Hadaway were already there waiting to contest. Stewart has a good offensive arsenal and creates his own offense off the dribble. He struggled to affect the game besides scoring however. He had 17 points, 1 rebound and 1 steal. For Cross Creek to win a state title, he needs to impact the game without having the ball in his hands.</p> <h4><strong>Who’s got next?</strong></h4> <p>After <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/kobe-stewart/">Kobe Stewart</a> graduates, will Cross Creek sink back into irrelevancy? They will definitely take a step back, but the Razorbacks still have some talent in the 2021 class. 6-foot-6 220-pound post <strong>Corey Trotter</strong> had a strong showing in the Elite Eight. He was unstoppable when he got the ball down low, finishing with 14 points, 15 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Trotter is a big boy. He has a little baby fat that he can stand to trim up but he’s an efficient low block scorer. He did a good job of sealing inside and scoring over top of LaFayette’s smaller defenders. Trotter had happy feet early on in the game and got caught shuffling his feet when trying to make moves but once he settled down, he was Coach Lawrence Kelly’s safest offensive option. Trotter should be on some college radars.</p>