MACON, Ga. — The Butler boys’ basketball team has done it.
The Bulldogs defeated Union County 57-49 to win the Georgia High School Basketball 2A State Championship on Thursday, March 6 at the Macon Coliseum.
This was the Bulldogs’ first state title since winning it in 1966. Coach Chaz Clark was proud of his team for not only what they did for the school, but for the community as a whole.
“It’s going to take time for them to realize what they’ve done for not only the school but for the community,” Clark said. “A community that desperately needed something like this. I expect them in few years to call me and really realize what they’ve done.”
Butler has appeared in the state championship games a few times since then without winning it. They lost a tough one to crosstown rival, Westside in 2022, and as well as in 2011 when the team’s current coach was on the team. Clark was senior at Butler when they lost to Columbia in the title game in 2011.
While it was a tough path as a player, Clark said it was definitely tougher and more rewarding as a coach.
“As player, I was reserve, so if we lost, it wasn’t really on me,” he said. “It was definitely harder as a coach and more satisfying to see those young men accomplish what they have.”
Butler finished the season winning 14 consecutive games after starting the season with a 7-8 record.
“I have an amazing coaching staff; it started with them,” Clark said. “Those guys helping the guys buy in and believe that it was going to be better for us in the long run.”
The Bulldogs began the championship game on an 8-2 run and led 22-12 after the first quarter.
Union County cut the Butler lead to seven points, but Kwanane Bridges converted the mid-range shot to help the Bulldogs lead 33-24 at half.
Fourteen points from senior Hayden Hughes helped bring the Panthers back down to only one point 45-44 with 6:50 remaining in the game.
Bridges made a huge 3-pointer with 2:45 remaining and Butler converted late free throws to secure the victory. He led Butler with 22 points and 12 rebounds in the game.
Sophomore De’Cori Fleming was the second leading scorer with 11 points and grabbed a team high 14 rebounds. Senior Marcus Scurry Jr struggled offensively, going 3-10 but played one of the most key roles defensively.
“I also don’t know many kids that can defend like him,” Clark said. “We had the plan going into the fourth quarter to put him on No. 2, Union County’s best player, and we knew he would give him some problems. He has carried the weight not many people has had to carry. We told him during the game, ‘you got us to this point; now, trust your brothers; they’ll bring it home for you.’”
Scurry Jr. was one of the reasons Butler made the Championship game after scoring 24 points and helping lead the Bulldogs to a victory over Carver in overtime in the semifinals.
“One of the things that turned the season around was when he learned his own leadership style and took control of locker room and led the Marcus Scurry way and we became a really tough out then,” Clark said.
With only four seniors on the roster, Butler seems to have a bright future ahead for years to come.
Christopher Rickerson, an Augusta University graduate, has covered area sports for Augusta University, The Augusta Press and Augusta Good News. Subscribe to the Augusta Good News newsletter here.
