It was an electric atmosphere in the arena at Bob Jones Saturday night, as Mav Nation was in the house in a major way. The Orange clad Mauldin fans were there to try and urge their guys to an upset victory over Ridge View and one of the nation's top Class of 2023 prospects, Greg Jackson. Mauldin started slow as Ridge View came out and took control early. Ridge View built a 17-8 lead after the 1st quarter.
Mauldin couldn't get a rhythm offensively in the 1st half. Part of that was missed shots and probably nerves, the other part was Ridge View's length and athleticism on defense. The Blazers continued to build on their lead and took a 34-19 advantage in to the break. Mauldin's leading scorer Caleb Byrd who came in averaging 21 per game, was held to just 4 1st half points.
Ridge View opened the 3rd quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 22 point lead, their largest of the game. At that point, Mauldin Head Coach Adam McClain took a timeout. His first words were two questions " Are you guys done? Do you guys just want to fold up?" McClain challenged his team to respond and held them accountable for what he felt was less than high level effort. Mauldin responded by going on an 18-4 run through the rest of the 3rd and part of the 4th quarter.
Ridge View would get conservative in the 4th quarter slowing themselves down and Mauldin would create turnovers as Ridge View tried to grind away at the clock. The Mavericks cut the lead to 6 at one point in the 4th and missed an open look at a three, that would have cut it to 3. Ridge View responded at was able to salt the game away. The Mavericks struggled at the free throw line in the 2nd half as well, which didn't help their cause. It was a physical game which played to the much bigger, stronger Ridge View's squad's advantage. Their also were some no calls on what was clearly offensive basket interference by Ridge View's 6ft 9 Forward "GG" Jackson, that hurt the Mauldin cause.
Speaking of Jackson he was as advertised, even though Mauldin did a solid job of defending him. Jackson the #1 rated Junior in the country per Rivals, scored 16 points in a variety of ways, he showed a nice touch and ability to hit turn around jumpers that are almost impossible to defend. He also faced the bucket and drove, displaying a nice right to left cross over move. He was active on the glass on both ends, specifically on the offensive boards. I had seen film on Jackson, but hadn't seen him live until Saturday night. His offensive ability showed on film, so I expected that. The bright spot that I saw from him, that I hadn't before was on the defensive end. He blocked, challenged and changed shots on that end of the floor. Jackson finished close to a triple-double of 16 points, 9 rebounds and 8 blocks.
Mauldin was led as usual by the Senior duo of Caleb Byrd and Drake Downs. Byrd after being held to just 4 in the 1st half, responded with 12 second half points to finish with 16. Downs added 15 points and had 7 boards, playing against a Ridge View front court that went 6ft 9 in Jackson, 6ft 8 in Donovan Rivers and brought 6ft 8 Myles Squirewell off the bench.
In the end, it was gutsy and valiant effort by Mauldin in defeat. It would have been easy for Mauldin to roll over down 15 at half and 22 early in the 3rd quarter. They could've went through the motions and got blown out by 30. But that is not who those guys are and they once displayed their heart and character in a spirited come back effort, but just couldn't get over the hump.
Ridge View improves to 19-11 on the season, the Blazers record is a bit deceptive. They played a national schedule and most of those 11 losses came to teams from ranked nationally like Oak Hill, Beaumont United (one of the favorites to win the Texas 5A Title) and Roselle Catholic (A favorite in New Jersey's vaunted Catholic School League). The Blazers won 3 straight 4A State Titles from 2018-2020 and are looking for their 1st State Title since moving up to 5A. Ridge View Head Coach Yerrick Stoneman has announced he's leaving to become the new Head Coach at Oak Hill after this season. Stoneman was an assistant there for 10 seasons under legendary Head Coach Steve Smith who is retiring.
Mauldin has now made the Upper State Title Game twice in the last 5 seasons. However they are still looking for their 1st ever trip to the State Finals. The Mavericks finish with a record of 18-9 and have won back to back Region 1 5A Titles. They also ended Dorman's dynasty run of 5 straight trips to the State Finals after edging the Cavs on a Caleb Byrd Buzzer beater in the 3rd of the playoffs.