PETTICOAT JUNCTION, S.C. - If you're a Silver Bluff Bulldog today, you think of Wednesday night's playoff game as a silver cloud filled with dark linings.
The silver was the Bulldogs' 66-58 victory over the Garrett Tech Falcons in the first-round of the Class AA state tournament. The 17 free throws the team made with the game on the line in the fourth quarter especially helped.
Senior Terrance Crawford sank seven free throws. Classmate Bobby Davis added six from the charity stripe to finish with a game-high 26 points.
That's something considering the Bulldogs finished the season in a dreadful free-throw rut. Silver Bluff's only loss at home came this past week to Wade Hampton.
The Bulldogs went 8-for-22 from the line in that contest, including misfires on six of their nine attempts in the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs' victory Wednesday was a confidence builder, at least from the free throw line. Davis was able to block out the past and just focus.
"I just thought about Coach Combs showing me the proper form in practice one day," Davis said. "I just reminded myself of what he said and remembered to stick with that form."
The dark was that Silver Bluff (17-8) took 27 shots from the free throw line in the final quarter. They missed 10 of those shots during a fourth quarter where the Bulldogs' lead never got larger than five points until the final 30 seconds.
Crawford went 7-for-10 from the line in the final minutes.
"I thought of every day in practice with Coach Combs working the free throws for 10 minutes," said Crawford, who finished with 16 points. "This was the playoffs. Every free throw counted. So I just focused in and concentrated. I didn't think about anything in terms of pressure or what if I missed or not. I just thought about making free throws."
The real reason for the win was the Bulldogs' penetrating style. Silver Bluff attacked the basket throughout the final period, even when holding a lead and killing the clock are at a premium.
"We're coached to attack the basket at all times," Crawford said. "That's the way we play. We penetrate and either kick the ball out or go to the hoop and get the foul or make an easy shot."
Silver Bluff put to rest some dark clouds hanging over its 2003-2004 season.
The Bulldogs lost in the first-round of the Class AA tournament to Bishop England after coming into the postseason with lots of momentum.
"This year's team is already better than last year," Davis said. "We're not sitting at home now after the first round. We're not knocked out after the first round at home. This feels a lot better."
Davis scored 15 of his 26 in the second half.
"We played more as a team this year than last year," Davis said. "This year's team has more leaders. We play more defense and we look for each other a lot more. We're not as selfish of a basketball team."
Silver Bluff will face the winner of Wednesday's Lee Central and Loris matchup.
Reach Jeff Sentell at (706) 823-3425 or jeff.sentell@augustachronicle.com.
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