North Clayton vs. Richmond Academy

Written by Larry Williams

2010 GHSA State Championships Elite 8 - Class 4A  Nobels free-throw sends ARC to the Final Four   Christian Nobles is mobbed by teammates after hitting the winning free-throw. Fort Valley, GA - The game between North Clayton and Richmond Academy appeared to be headed to OT when ARC point guard Christian Nobles missed the first of his two free-throws with just seconds remaining in the game. Marcus Hunt get a step on ARC's Tommy Williams. ARC and North Clayton matched up well; both teams were athletic and loaded with talent. The Musketeers jumped out to the early lead; a basket by Raston Brown would put them up by five, 9-4 midway through the first-quarter. Nobles the hero of the game did a great job of running the point and penetrating throughout the game; he even showed off some long range shooting skills. His second three-pointer of the quarter would give ARC an 18-13 lead at the end of the first-quarter. North Clayton's highly regarded 6-5 sophomore Marcus Hunt and reserve Clarence Jackson a football star who has signed with Ole Miss led a second-quarter charge by the Eagles. A pair of free-throws by William Vaughn would give North Clayton a 20-19 lead. ARC has a nice 1-2 punch inside with Brown and Tommy Williams, their work on the glass helped the Musketeers regain the lead and take a 27-24 lead into the half. The intensity of the game increased in the second half; with 3:44 left in the third-quarter the score was tied at 34-34. Jackson's basket would give North Clayton the lead but as time was winding down Don Quarles hit a jumper for ARC to tie the game up at 39-39. The game would continue to go back and forth down to the final minutes of the game. A jumper by Williams gave ARC a 48-45 Clarence Jackson (l) and Raston Brown (r) battle for position. lead with less than 2:00 minutes to play. Hunt would tie the game a few moments later by completing a three-point play. With 04.3 seconds left on the clock Christian Nobles drew a foul on Jackson trying to get off a shot. Award two shots, Nobles missed the first shot and drain the second to put the Musketeers up by one. North Clayton had enough time to get off a good shot put I think point guard Jimmy Williams misjudged the time looking up at the clock as he raced across mid-court with the ball. His long shot attempt missed its mark and ARC grabbed the ball and their tickets to the Final Four. ARC will face Miller Grove in a rematch of last years semifinals match at 8:30 on Wednesday night at the Gwinnett Arena. Miller Grove won that game and the Class 4A Championship. The Final Score: Richmond Academy 51 - North Clayton 50 Scoring Recap Richmond Academy: Christian Nobles scored 14 points to pace ARC. Tommy Williams finished with 11 and Desmond Lofland added 10. North Clayton: Marcus Hunt led the Eagles with 15 points; Jimmy Williams had 9 and Antwuan Moore 8.