Carver loses, but the city makes gains


MACON, Ga. — As the final seconds ticked off the clock in Saturday night’s Class AAA boys state championship basketball game and four fouled-out Carver High School starters watched from the bench, helpless and hopeless, a group of Glenn Hills fans serenaded them with a chant.

‘‘Stick to football!’’ ... clap, clap, clap-clap-clap ... ‘‘Stick to football!’’

Although it’s true that two Carver starters were instrumental in the Tigers winning their first state title in football in December, it's fair to say the basketball team wouldn't have advanced so far without its star wide receiver, Jarmon Fortson, being a very capable guard or its star linebacker, Jarvis Jones, being one of the most rugged post players in the state.

Jones certainly showed up, large and in charge while pouring in a game-high 23 points and owning the backboards, but Glenn Hills held on for a 64-57 because of its excellent and intelligent team play rather than because of any Carver shortcomings.

‘‘When I watched them play the other night, I told the guys that if we were not sharp and we were not structured, they would eat us up,’’ Carver coach Warren Beaulah said.

He was right. The Spartans were razor sharp in executing their flex offense. They maintained excellent spacing, set strong screens, continually made the extra pass for easier shots and put on a clinic in how to lose defenders on backdoor cuts. They encapsulated the consummate team effort, while Carver often resembled a tired and frustrated collection of individuals.

They accumulated fouls from lazy reach-in defense, struggled to find the range on their perimeter shots and couldn't find a consistent offensive threat other than Jones. Most of those issues likely arose from what happened the previous night. Carver knocked off a heavily-favored Dunwoody team filled with three Division I signees and likely treated that occasion with the importance normally afforded to a state championship game.

It's difficult to summon that type of urgency and excellence two nights in a row.

‘‘The game last night actually had me scared,’’ Beaulah said. ‘‘I think we lost energy. We just hit a little bit of a barrier.’’

They hit the wall in the fourth quarter, in particular, when foul trouble and calm, collected play from Glenn Hills proved to be too much to overcome.

So the drought since Carver’s first and only state basketball title in 1971 has grown to 37 years. But think about where Columbus-area basketball is now as opposed to 10 or 15 years ago.

Jordan won a boys’ state title last year in Class AAA. Carver has knocked on the door twice since 2004. The Kendrick girls finally broke through Saturday night against Carrollton and won the city's first state title for their gender after several close calls.

At different times these last seven seasons, programs have risen up without really falling back. Jordan might have faced Carver in the state title game had it not been for a knockout loss to Glenn Hills. Northside's boys have grown into a formidable program, while Shaw and Spencer are typically competitive. On the girls' side, Columbus, Carver, Shaw and Spencer have all enjoyed varying degrees of success.

It’s no longer a surprise when a Columbus team makes its way to Macon for the final four.

The most important factor in the improvement is the desire from so many players to develop their skills year-round. Amateur Athletic Union basketball enabled players like Jones to face the state's elite over the summer, including some of the stars who suited up for Dunwoody and Glenn Hills.

‘‘I think basketball has always been good in Columbus, but it’s getting better,’’ Beaulah said. ‘‘I think a lot can be attributed to the guys getting out and competing. They're getting to face a lot of the good competition that's outside Georgia.’’

While the pain felt inside the Carver locker room late Saturday night was palpable, the presence of two local teams in state championship games proves that the overall health of city basketball has never been better.