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| Brothers TJ Hutchins (left) and Chase Hutchins led Pope to the SEBA Fall League Championship |
Douglas County, who enjoyed a perfect 8-0 record coming into the Title Game, knocked off a relentless Blessed Trinity squad in the first Semi-Final by a score of 57-48. In the second Semi-Final, Pope pulled out a 48-44 victory over a tough Creekview squad in a well played contest.
While Pope came into the game as a definite underdog, somebody forgot to tell that to the Greyhounds as they came out very hot and jumped out to an early lead. Pope's was led by the outstanding contributions of the Hutchins brothers. Senior T.J. Hutchins (6' 5, Forward; 2013) provided excellent play on both ends of the floor, scoring 12 first half points and playing strong interior defense. Standout Sophomore Chase Hutchins (6' 2, PG, 2015) ran the offense very well, scoring and distributing while calmly handling Douglas County's defensive pressure.
Douglas County countered with several comeback runs behind the play of Senior Jalen Thornton (6' 0, CG, 2013) and Sophomore K'Ja Johnson (6' 3, CG, 2015). However, Pope continued to answer the call and proved that this was going to be their day as they continued their fine play and never looked back, winning by the final score of 64-50. Pope's Andrew Mendell (17 points) and Devo Bizzard (14 points) played a big role in the Pope victory. TJ Hutchins finished with 14 points and 7 rebounds. Chase Hutchins scored 15 points and had 6 assists. Jalen Thornton led Douglas County with 15 points and K'Ja Johnson scored 12 points.
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| 2012 SEBA Atlanta Fall League Champions |
Additional Notes / Observations:
- Douglas County graduated four standout seniors off last year's 26 win team that are now playing college basketball. While this year's team will be inexperienced; Coach Joby Boydstone has alot of young talent to work with and the future is very bright. Despite their youth; Look for the Tigers to be right in the mix for a Region 3-AAAAAA crown.
- Pope will also have a host of younger players stepping into new roles this year; however, they have excellent chemistry and will be very well coached under Pat Abney. Look for them to make noise in a well balanced Region 7-AAAAA.
- The Championship Game featured Two 2015 Prospects with excellent potential. Pope's Chase Hutchins is a skilled guard with good size who can get to the rim and has a very impressive court awareness for a young player. Johnson is gifted athlete who attacks the rim very well and has excellent body control. With continued development both players have a chance to be among the top guard prospects in Georgia's 2015 class.
