Kelshawn Knight-Goff scored nine of his game-high 15 points in the fourth quarter to help No. 16 Doss (26-5) advance to the Sixth Region title game with a 57-44 win over Fern Creek. Doss also made 8 of 9 free throws in the final period to thwart any chance of a comeback by the Tigers (19-13).
The Dragons took command early, holding Fern Creek to just 5 of 19 shooting in the first half. They also took advantage of a 17-3 run to lead by as many as 11 points in the first half. Coach Tony Williams said there wasn’t anything special his team did in shutting down Fern Creek, which beat Doss 76-64 in the teams’ second game of the season on Dec. 4.
“We just did what we do in practice every day,” said Williams, in his second year at his alma mater. “We worked hard. We focused on the job at hand, and we got the job done tonight.”
GALLERY: Doss vs. Fern Creek
The Tigers drew within 31-28 with 2:26 remaining in the third quarter, but Doss ended the period on an 8-2 run. Fern Creek never challenged again.
The game marked the return of Anthony Wales. The sophomore guard was diagnosed with a sports hernia last month and was considered lost for the season, but coach James Schooler said Wales’ surgery was delayed. That allowed him to come back, scoring six points and grabbing four rebounds while playing 16:54.
“It was just eating him up sitting on the sidelines, not being able to strap it on with his teammates,” said Schooler, who added that playing would not have worsened the injury. “So he just made the choice to gut it out.”
Despite losing 80 percent of their scoring from last year’s team, Doss stands one win away from a return to the state tournament. Knight-Goff, a senior who did not play for the Dragons last year, said his teammates are looking forward to making some history of their own.
“I just want to take my team there,” Knight-Goff said. “Not throwing shade on last year’s team, but just want to be able to go and actually bring the state championship back home to Doss.”