Tattnall survives third clash with Stratford 66-64 to advance to GIAA 4A semifinals

The No. 4 Tattnall Trojans advance to the GIAA 4A semifinals in thrilling fashion, defeating the rival No. 5 Stratford Eagles 66-64 in the playoffs after sweeping the season series.  

This is the third time these two teams have met this season, all of which have been decided by a margin of three points or less.  

“First of all, we give all the glory to God,” Tattnall head coach Matt Chambless said. “I know he doesn’t care about the game of basketball per se, but how we play it, I think he does.” 

In late January, Tattnall won with a buzzer-beater from senior Antone Johnson. Two weeks later, history repeated itself as Johnson hit another game winner as the clock expired. Johnson had 21 points in Saturday’s game, playing less ball dominant but still being the go-to guy down the stretch.  

“I call him Mr. Clutch,” said Chambless. “We didn’t call hardly any plays for him tonight. He still finds a way to get the ball and get it to the rim. But he really was focused on his teammates tonight. It’s a good team win.” 

The game was technically played on a neutral site, but with part of the GIAA tournament being held at Tattnall Square Academy, there was a feeling of comfortability from the Trojans on the home court with their fans in attendance. 

“I think the fans and the crowd, great atmosphere,” Chambless said. 

However, a cross-city rivalry had both sides of the arena packed, as Stratford traveled well to watch their team play in the playoffs.  

Tattnall opened up the game on fire, starting the game with a 10-0 run before the Eagles got on the board with a Frankie Raines Jr. 3-pointer. The Trojans remained in the driver’s seat for the entire first half. Led by Johnson and junior Whit Davidson, Tattnall maintained this 10 point lead to the half, going into the break up 31-21. 

After the break, the game became all about Stratford senior Frankie Raines Jr. 

“Frankie’s that guy we depend on all year long,” said Stratford head coach Jarvis Smith. “He’s such an unselfish player. But look, when we got him in the locker room, I said ‘this is the time to be selfish.’” 

Raines took his dynamic game to another level in the second half, scoring or assisting on seemingly every basket made by the Eagles. Though Tattnall led by as many as 18 points in the third quarter, by the middle of the fourth, Raines’ offense along with a hard-nosed Stratford defensive effort was able to claw the Eagles back out from their deficit, tying the game up at 53-53. 

“I mean, you can’t prepare for something like that,” Chambless said. “We prepared knowing that he’s going to shoot the most shots, he’s going to have the ball in his hands. But it’s hard to prepare for something like that to happen.” 

Tattnall threw a balanced attack on offense to keep pace with Raines’ scoring output. The lead  changed repeatedly until the final few possessions, where a rare miss from Raines put Antone Johnson in position for a bucket that put the Trojans up two possessions.  

After getting the ball back, scoring, and a critical miss from the Trojans, Stratford called a timeout in position to win or send the game to overtime. 

After a timeout, the Eagles struggled to inbound the ball, resulting in a scrambled possession where their star Raines didn’t even get to take the shot. Stratford missed a 3-pointer that would’ve given them the lead, got the rebound and had the shot blocked by Tattnall star Drew Bacchus with two seconds left to seal the game for the Trojans, completing their sweep of the Eagles.

Raines finished with 48 points, with 41 of them coming in the second half. Coach Smith had high praise for his senior. 

“He put us on his back and did a hell of a job,” he said. 

Post-game, both coaches were complimentary of each other’s programs. 

“Hats off to Tattnall,”  Smith said. “They did what they had to do to make the plays.” 

“Three times, they’re a great team obviously. One play here and one play there, and each of those three games could have gone the other way,” Chambless said. 

When asked about the game, Stratford head coach Jarvis Smith was candid about his outlook.  

“It’s part of the game,” he said. “You got two evenly matched teams, so it always comes down  to the little things. Commit to the program, get the offseason work, and just get some reps over  the summer. And we’ll try to be right back next year.” 

The Trojans are now set to face the No. 1 St. Anne Pacelli Vikings on Thursday in the GIAA semifinals at Columbus State University. Pacelli enters the contest 26-0 on the season with a 38-game win streak dating back to the 2023-24 regular season.  

“Our preparation doesn’t change,” Chambless said. “They’re a good team. They have all the tools and obviously they play a tough schedule and have a great undefeated record. All we do is you control the controllables. I can control what we work on and try to game plan them as best as I can. But the guys got to show up, and you still got to make shots.”