Bremen senior guard Josh Johnson goes up for a bucket during the Blue Devils' 72-45 setback to South Paulding in the championship game of the 37th Annual Hilburn-Patterson Haralson County Invitational Tournament on Saturday evening. Johnson, an all-tournament selection, finished with 18 points and nine rebounds in the contest. (Cliff Williams/Times-Georgian)
Bremen point guard Trent McClure was an all-tournament selection for the Blue Devils, who fell in the championship game to South Paulding on Saturday night. McClure posted 10 points in the setback. (Cliff Williams/Times-Georgian)
The Blue Devils (5-8) were coming off an 0-3 showing in the first tournament during the holiday season and bounced back for a pair of wins in the opening rounds at Haralson County. Saturday they just happened to run into a hot team and had some cool moments of their own.
Bremen coach Billy Pollard didn't take anything away from what his team accomplished this weekend, however, after the game.
"We were only down seven at halftime. We just couldn't throw it in the ocean in the second half. I was proud of my kids. They played hard," Pollard said. "I think we've turned the corner, as far as being a team — a basketball team. We're really starting to play as a team. It was a really positive night for us."
Josh Johnson continued to be the offensive force for the Blue Devils, as his 18-point, nine-rebound effort led the way, while fellow all-tournament team honoree Trent McClure scored 10 and Nick Forrister added 10 points of his own.
"Trent just had a poor night shooting [Saturday], and that's going to happen if you're a shooter. You're going to have your off-nights. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have been able to get the ball across halfcourt. He did a real good job of handling the ball pressure and not turning it over," Pollard said. "I thought Josh Johnson handled himself well [Saturday]. He played his game offensively and rebounded well, shared the ball well. We just got really cold the second half."
The real test will come on Friday, as the Blue Devils open the Region 5-AA schedule against Bowdon. That game will determine how far the team really came during this tournament.
"We'll know Friday how big this tournament was when we play Bowdon. If we continue to play the way we are now, we're going to be a good basketball team. Hopefully, we stay this course. We get a little break — off Monday and Tuesday — then go at it Wednesday and Thursday. Friday's results we'll see if this tournament turned this around or not. If we play with the effort we did in this tournament, I'll be pleased," Pollard said.
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