Class 1A, 2A Finals Set After Day One Of Final 48
The opening day of the AHSAA Final 48 Championships featured Class 1A and 2A boys and girls semi-final contests, setting the stage for championship games beginning Friday. St. Jude and Brantley boys and Keith and Brantley girls claimed Class 1A wins while the Woodland and Prattville Christian girls and the Tanner and LaFayette boys won in 2A. Play continues Wednesday at the BJCC Arena with play semi-finals in Classes 3A and 5A.
CLASS 1A BOYS
Saint Jude 76, Marion County 59
St. Jude built a 46-26 lead by intermission and cruised into the Class 1A Boys state finals with a 76-59 win over Marion County in the final game of the first day.
Keith Washington had the hot hand early outside and finished with 20 points including sinking 5-of-8 3-pointers for Coach Earl Taylor’s Pirates (27-6). In the second half, St. Jude went inside successfully as Andrew Rogers poured in a game-high 26 points. He was 12-of-15 from the field and fellow post Tommy Burton was 7-of-8 en route to 14 points. Rogers also had eight rebounds and three blocked shots.
Sean Wallace led Marion County (26-7), coached by Rusty Clark, with 21 points. Ready Swanigan added 17 points and a game-leading 10 rebounds. DeShawn Reibesehl also had 13 points.
St. Jude will face Brantley in the finals Friday at 3 p.m..
Brantley 49, Ragland 47 (OT)
Brantley junior guard Wesley Person sank two free throws with 2.4 seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Bulldogs (21-5) to a 49-47 overtime victory over Ragland.
The victory sends Brantley’s boys and girls into the finals. Andrew Kilcrease, head coach of each team, now has the opportunity to become the first head coach in AHSAA history to coach state championships in boys and girls basketball in the same year.
Person finished with 25 points, including 9-of-12 at the foul line. His old-fashioned 3-point play – a lay-up, foul and free throw – tied the game at 45-all in the OT period. Ragland (28-7), which trailed 7-0 after the first quarter and 20-9 at halftime, outscored Brantley 15-8 in the fourth quarter and 29-18 in the second half to force the overtime.
Jimmy Brock led Ragland with 15 points, Cody Jones added 12 and Kijana Lindsey 10. Brock also had 10 rebounds.
Taylor Driggers had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Brantley.
CLASS 1A GIRLS
Keith 40, Lynn 27
Keith’s defense limited high-scoring Lynn to just 12 points in the first three quarters and the Lady Bears posted a 40-27 win.
Harriet Winchester was big inside for Keith (31-3). She led Coach Cecil Williams’ team with 14 points and 15 rebounds. She had 14 defensive boards, limiting Lynn’s Bears (31-2) to few second-shot chances. Stephanie Carson also had 10 points with two key 3-pointers for Keith.
Jackee Dodd had 13 points despite facing a double-team from the Keith defense all night. She also had nine rebounds. Reagan Tittle also had six points and six rebounds for Coach Adam Gray’s squad.
Keith will face Brantley in the finals Friday at 1 p.m.
Brantley 42, Cedar Bluff 31
Brantley jumped out to a 27-4 lead in the first half and then fought off a second-half Cedar Bluff comeback to win 42-31.
Amahni Upshaw was the only player in the game to hit double digits. The Brantley sophomore finished with 11 points and nine rebounds. Erica Daniels cleared a game-high 16 rebounds for the Bulldogs (24-6) of Coach Andrew Kilcrease. Kilcrease had little time to savor the win. He also coached Brantley’s boys to a Final 48 berth and had to be back at courtside just 20 minutes later as the Bulldogs took on Ragland.
Katie McGinnis had nine points for Cedar Bluff (18-16), which outscored Brantley 19-12 in the second half after trailing 30-12 at intermission.
CLASS 2A BOYS
Tanner 51, Luverne 50
Tanner High School senior guard Justin Smith sank a free throw with 2.4 seconds remaining to lift the Rattlers (29-4) to a 51-50 win over Luverne.
Luverne (24-10) struggled down the stretch finishing only 3-of-15 at the foul line. Tanner, by contrast, was 13-of-17. Smith was 4-of-6 and finished with a team-high 12 points.
Greg Maclin added 11 points and Desmond Love 10. Smith also had nine rebounds for Coach Chris Whitt’s Rattlers.
Four players were in double figures for Coach Richard Dorsey’s Tigers. DeAnthony Rutledge had 12 points and 11 rebounds, Donta’ Hall had 10 points, nine rebounds and blocked six shots. Preston Sankey and Jamarcus June each added 10 points.
Tanner will face LaFayette in the finals Friday at 11 a.m.
LaFayette 37, Elba 35
Kentavious Landers tipped in a missed shot at the buzzer to give LaFayette (21-11) a 37-35 win over Elba in Class 2A boys’ semi-final action.
LaFayette, tied with Elba at 35-all, held the ball for the final 2:29 before Raquazious Boyd took a shot with five seconds remaining. Landers was there to tip in the shot.
The Bulldogs trailed 29-21 after three quarters but turned up their full-court defense to outscore the Tigers 16-6 in the final eight minutes.
Boyd finished with 12 points and seven rebounds to lead Coach Obadiah Threadgill, IV’s team. He also had four steals and three blocked shots. Kaminski Bledsoe added seven points and Landers had six with five rebounds.
Cobe Goosby, Martavious Gray and Harry Griffin each scored eight for Elba (25-5). Nick Green also had nine rebounds for Coach Karl Bledsoe’s Tigers.
CLASS 2A GIRLS
Woodland 71, Providence Christian 54
Leah Strain scored 34 points and her first-cousin Shanna Strain added 28 as the Lady Bobcats (33-2) opened the 90th annual AHSAA State Basketball Tournament with a semi-final win.
Leah sank 15-of-19 shots from the field, had nine rebounds and six assists for Woodland, which is coached by her dad Larry Strain. Shanna’s twin sister Shalyn chipped in 12 points for the winners.
Providence Christian (27-4) was led by Elizabeth Dowd’s 26 points and 17 rebounds. Brooke Segler also had 11 for Coach Cindy Palm’s Eagles.
Woodland (33-2) will face Prattville Christian in the finals Friday at 9 a.m.
Prattville Christian 52, Tanner 31
Prattville Christian kept its unbeaten season intact with a big first-half effort and cruised past Tanner 52-31.
Coach Jason Roberson’s Panthers (34-0), playing in the AHSAA for the first time, led 31-8 at intermission. The Rattlers (15-17) managed to outscore PCA 23-21 in the second half but the damage had been done.
Senior Kristen Emerson had 30 points and 11 rebounds to lead Prattville Christian. Elisabeth Kelley added nine points and Nicole Hoots had 14 rebounds.
Pacing Tanner was Kelsey Houston with 10 points and Sydney Houston with nine. Sydney also had eight rebounds.