Dougherty Trojans beat the buzzer to reach Elite Eight

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - After a game-winning jump shot in the Sweet 16, the boys from Dougherty have secured their spot in the quarter-finals.

On Friday night, Dougherty upset fourth-ranked Fayette County with a last-second shot by Kaleke Singletary-Jinks.

The Trojans won by a final score of 66-65. Dougherty getting their revenge on the 2021 state runner-up who ended their title run a year ago.

This is Dougherty’s second straight trip to the quarter-finals, hopeful this time they’ll be able to get to the final four. Trojans look to set the tone with their defense as they get set to face Spencer in the quarter-finals.

On paper, Spencer is the team to win it but Kennard Norris said they thrive on the underdog mentality.

”Tuesday will set the foundation for the team and it’ll let other teams know Dougherty came to play and we ain’t playing,’ said Norris. “We coming for everybody. Being the underdog gives us confidence and motivation to go hard every day and practice hard on the court and in the classroom. We just want to fulfill this moment and take it as a life lesson.”

Head Coach Bakari Bryant said the keys to the game are simple, “It’s to be aggressive, offensively and defensively. You have to disrupt things defensively. Then offensively you got to make sure you take care of the ball and take it one possession at a time. I tell the kids all the time we aren’t going to play Spencer, we’re going to play basketball. If you love and respect the game of basketball everything else will take care of itself.”

The Trojans are on a mission, the next challenge for Dougherty awaits them in Columbus when they take on Spencer Tuesday night.

Update: Trojans lost 56-34 in the Elite Eight.

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