1971 Newton County p2

From 8-20-14

Now, the 2nd part of the story of the 1971 NCHS basketball team: When a team has averaged only 2 losses a year for 12 years, you wouldn't think we would have to prove much to the public. When the crowd arrived for the home opener vs. Rockdale, there was much "chatter" about how the Rams would do in Georgia's largest classification.

Behind Kevin Price's 21 points, and Clay Summers' 18 points, they won their opener 75-60 over a good Rockdale High team. When the usually-tough Griffin team came to town, the Rams were too strong in a 77-46 rout as Summers scored 19 points & Kevin had 16 rebounds. The 1st road trip is always a challenge, but Newton was able to pull out an 80-70 win over R.E.Lee H.S., with Summers scoring 28 points, Stuart Clive's 17 points, Kevin's 15 points, & Donnie Freeman's 14 points, it made for a happy team. On the way home, the team enjoyed a fine meal at a Barnesville catfish restaurant. One of the much-anticipated games of the season thus far was when the Rams traveled to play the highly-ranked Newnan Cougars. The Cougars led for most of the game, & were leading 67-65 with 2 seconds left in the game, when Freeman's tip-in sent the game into overtime! The Rams were able to win, 77-70, with Freeman's 21 pts., 16 rebounds, leading the way. With a 4-0 record, the Rams swept through the next 4 games, to give them a perfect record as they prepared to face Price HS, another Top-10 team, out of Atlanta. Price was 7-0, & had already beaten the #1 team in the state, the Forest Park Panthers. Price brought in maybe the tallest & most talented team, (which featured two future NBA players and a host of other talented athletes)! The gym was filled to capacity soon after the doors were opened, and our principal, Mr. Sharp, was shocked, when through a crack in the door, a Price fan offered him $100 to let him in to see the game! The place was rocking as the Rams led at halftime, 37-30. After a fast & furious 2nd bald, the Rams had won their 9th straight victory, 73-70. After the game, the Price players sat on the floor in front of their bench in disbelief that their great team had lost the game! Summers paced the way with 22 pts., terrific guard Stuart Clive's 18 pts. Also, Freeman's 16 pts. & 15 rebounds were critical, as were Kevin Price's 13 points! The Rams had served notice early in the season that their tradition was no "fluke"! The Price win & a record of 9-0 propelled the Rams into the state's Top 10 teams, & Summers was listed as the 15th best player in the state's Top 25 poll. The Rams' fans well-knew that this season still had many more challenges ahead with a return trip to Price HS, & yet to face Washington HS, & highly-ranked Forest Park.