Providence Day stops Norcross (GA) to win Hoodies House championship

It was a game fitting of a championship final.

In a seesaw affair, the Providence Day Chargers defeated the Norcross (Ga.) Blue Devils 66-56 Wednesday on their home floor to capture the Hoodies House of Hope Basketball Tournament. Providence Day became the first Mecklenburg County team to win the national bracket championship since the tournament started the format in 2001.

The Chargers earned it by defeating three quality opponents in as many nights: the Douglas (Ga.) Tigers, the Wheeler (Ga.) Wildcats and Norcross. Wheeler is ranked No. 21 nationally by USA Today. Norcross (12-2) is the No. 2 ranked team in the state of Georgia by MaxPreps.

Tied at 46-46 at the end of three quarters, it was the Chargers who finished strong, outscoring the Blue Devils 20-10.

And they did it without their starting point guard Devon Dotson, who injured an ankle early in the fourth quarter and never returned. How did Providence Day respond?

“We just knew that we lost our point guard, but we knew that somebody had to come in and step up,” Chargers forward Josh Howard said. “We just had to keep playing because these guys (Norcross) were going to keep playing hard and we had to play harder.”

Providence Day got the start it wanted, building an 11-point lead and settling for a seven-point advantage after eight minutes.

But the Chargers went cold during the second quarter as the Blue Devils heated up.

Norcross, which didn’t have Rayshwan Hammonds for five minutes as he was sitting out with three fouls, still outscored Providence Day 21-11 in the quarter.

Three Who Mattered

Devon Dotson: Providence Day point guard led the Chargers in scoring with 19 points despite only playing three quarters.

Rayshwan Hammonds: The Blue Devils’ 6-foot-8 forward led all scorers with 22 points despite missing significant time in foul trouble.

Grant Williams: The Chargers’ senior forward had 14 points and tied teammate Isaac Johnson with eight second-half points. Williams, who hit the game-winning basket in a semifinal win over Wheeler with 1.4 seconds left, was named tournament MVP.

Worth Mentioning

▪ Providence Day put two on the Hoodies all-tournament team in Dotson and Williams. The other three were Douglas County’s Brandon Robinson, Norcross’ Hammonds and Wheeler’s Romello White.

▪ The extent of Dotson’s ankle injury will be determined Thursday after medical tests.

They Said It

“I looked at my players’ eyes coming out of that little delay and I didn’t see anyone hanging their heads. Chins were up; and they saw that the chips were against us. (It was) ‘Let’s get it done,’ and they went out and did it.” Providence Day coach Brian Fields on his team’s reaction after seeing Dotson leave the game with an injury.

Records: Norcross 12-2, Providence Day 15-3.

What’s Next: Providence Day will host a traveling Australian high school team Jan. 6 at 7:30 p.m.

This story was originally published December 31, 2015 at 12:21 AM with the headline "Providence Day stops Norcross (GA) to win Hoodies House championship."