Carter G. Woodson

The 2 teams met in the Carver gymnasium in the final round of a ten-team tournament. At stake was the Eastern District Championship for class "B" teams.

Gene Long was the guy who kept breaking up the Tullahassee running plays. When referee thumbed him out of the game, the Carver boys were ahead 41 to 29, and with less than 15 minutes of play time showing on the clock it looked as if a big upset was in the offing. In 2 regular season games, Carver had bowed to Tullahassee by good-sized margin.

But Gene Long out of the game, there was no one around who could put the screws on Tullahassee forwards. The visitors found themselves and began to click.

The Carver margin was whittled down to 4 points, and then to 2, and it was precisely at this point that Dame Fate decided to make love to a guy on the visiting team who had been trying to star all night. He was the co-captain, James Gray, wearing a big "77".

All night long #77 had been trying to score with a pet play, but with very little success. Hanging around the Carver basket, he would fade to the sidelines, grab a toss, feint at the basket and then make a quick dribble to the foul line, directly in front of the basket and attempt a kangaroo shot, coming up off the floor.

It was a tricky piece of business, but almost every time he tried it during the 1st half the ball would bounce harmlessly off the backboard. His repeated failures seemed to tickle a customer sitting behind this reporter. He was obviously a Carver rooter, because every time the play failed he would sing out, "Do, it, Kid. By next year you will have it down perfect."

Well, Mr. 77 decided not to wait until next year. With his team 2 points behind, 44-46, he faded to the sidelines, grabbed the ball, made his usual feint at the basket, and then ducked under the outreached hands of a Carver player and fired his shot from a point in front of the basket. The ball plopped in, and the score was tied.

Carver went ahead with a foul shot, but Mr. 77 came right back with the same play, same spot, and put his team ahead again, 48 to 47. Another teammate, Trucella McIntosh, registered with 1 of 2 foul tries, but there was so much excitement and confusion that both scorers forgot to set it down.

The visiting coach, Elmer Gamble, started to squabble about it, but before he could get going in earnest the score was rectified. Then O.D. Ponds scored a field goal for the visitors and the score was 51-47 in favor of Tullahassee. The best Carver could do in the dwindling moments of the game was a foul shot.

The final whistle was never sounded. The boy who usually attends to that was too absorbed in the game. The official timer attracted the attention of officials and players by waving the clock at them.

Three Carver first stringers did not see action in the game. They were Melvin Gilliams, center; Cleveland Jones, forward; and Roy Johnson, guard. They were all on the sick list. However Coach Art Williams did not offer this fact as an excuse. He conceded that Tullahassee has a good team. "They have beaten us 3 times," he said, "what more proof do you want?"

In another corner of the gymnasium, Coach Gamble kept repeating over and over for the benefit of his Tullahassee Boys, "I'm so proud of you."