Greene Co., Sumter Co., Clements Cop State Titles
BIRMINGHAM—The Green County boys, the Sumter County girls and the Clements girls captured state titles here Friday to highlight the fourth day of the 2010 Final 48 State Basketball Championships at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex.
The Class 6A semifinals took the court for the first session Friday.
Game summaries:
Class 3A Boys Championship
Greene County 61, Madison Academy 44
Greene County downed Madison Academy 61-44 Friday night to capture the Tigers' second championship in the last six years. Coach Rodney Wesley’s Tigers (23-7) also won the 4A crown in 2005.
Tournament MVP Neiko Hunter had 13 points, two steals and provided some key team floor leadership as Greene County took the lead early and never let it go.
Teammate Shawn Carpenter had 18 points on a 7-of-12 shooting performance, Pierre Crawford had 10 points and nine rebounds and Phillip Cherry cleared eight rebounds.
Madison Academy (21-12), making its fifth straight appearance in the 3A title game, got 21 points from Spencer Palmer. Jordan Matthews added seven points and 10 rebounds for Coach Andy Blackston’s Mustangs.
The 2A All-Tourney Team: Neiko Hunter, Greene County (MVP); Chandler Mack, Madison Academy; Jordan Matthews, Madison Academy; Spencer Palmer, Greene County; Pierre Crawford, Greene County; Shawn Carpenter, Greene County; and Matthew Craig, Piedmont.
Class 3A Girls Championship
Sumter County 53, Madison Academy 50
Sumter County clawed back from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter Friday night to beat Madison Academy 53-50 and claim the school’s first Class 3A state girls basketball championship since 1978, the first year the AHSAA sponsored a state tournament for girls
Coach Eddie Jackson’s Wildcats (26-3) had to turn to some strong defensive pressure and clutch free-throw shooting to stage the comeback.
Madison Academy (35-4) led 43-29 with 7:36 to play and was still up 12 with 4:36 remaining. Tournament MVP KaTia May sparked the rally, sinking 8-of 8 free throws the rest of the way and canning a jumper with 1:32 left to give the Wildcats the lead at 48-47. Her two free throws with 41 seconds left made it 51-48 and the Sumter County defense did the rest.
Madison Academy was just 7-of-23 at the foul line for the game, a low percentage key that opened the door for the Wildcats in the final period.
The 5-foot-2 May finished with 23 points, including 9-of-10 free throw shooting, and five rebounds. Jamesha Watkins chipped in 15 points and Juanice Newton had nine rebounds.
Nyla Johnson had 14 points and 12 boards for Madison Academy. Haley Stewart added 12 points.
The Class 3A All-Tourney Team: KaTia May, Sumter County (MVP); Nyla Johnson, Madison Academy; Doretha Holloway, Sumter County; Lydia McGee, Madison Academy; Jamesha Watkins, Sumter County; Haley Stewart, Madison Academy.
Class 2A Girls Championship
Clements 57, North Sand Mountain 50
Freshman Daneshia Malone scored 24 points and collected 15 rebounds Friday night as Clements won its first Class 2A girls state basketball championship with a 57-50 win over North Sand Mountain.
The Colts (34-3) blocked 14 shots en route to the victory – tourney MVP Malone blocking five and Jordan Beggs swiping away six. Beggs also had eight points. Chelsea Haggermaker added 13 pointd and nine rebounds.
Clements, coached by Sonya Marks, made 19-of-31 free throws–all but one attempt coming in the second half. Malone was 10-of-12.
North Sand Mountain (28-7), which set the AHSAA girls state record for 3-point goals attempted this season, spent more time driving the basket but still managed to sink 5-of-13 from beyond the arc. Stella Camp made both of her attempts to finish with 12 points, four steals and 12 rebounds. Lacy Huckabee led the Lady Bison with 16 points and five assists.
The Class 2A All-Tourney Team: Daneshia Malone, Clements (MVP); Chelsea Haggermaker, Clements; Jordan Beggs, Clements; Lacy Huckabee, North Sand Mountain; Stella Camp, North Sand Mountain; Eboni Smith, R.C. Hatch.
Class 6A Girls Semifinals
Bob Jones 51, Davidson 4
Bob Jones High School advanced to the Class 6A girls basketball finals for the third straight year Friday morning with a 51-41 win over Davidson in the semifinals.
The Patriots (33-2), state champs in 2008 and 2009, will now play in the championship game Saturday night at 5 p.m.
The Warriors (31-4) jumped out to a 13-2 lead before Coach Tim Miller’s Patriots battled back to take the LEAD 14-13 by the end of the first period and never trailed again.
Mekena Randall led Bob Jones with 19 points and nine rebounds. Rikeya McKinnon added 11 points and Tierra Jones had seven plus eight rebounds.
Aundre Adams led Davidson with 16 points. Devina Moulds added 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Hoover 77, Jeff Davis 44
Top-ranked Hoover High School outscored Jeff Davis 40-16 in the second and third periods Friday and rolled into the Class 6A girls state finals with the decisive 77-44 victory.
The Lady Bucs (31-1) will face two-time defending state champion Bob Jones in the finals Saturday night at 5 p.m. The Patriots beat Hoover last year in the finals.
Chardonae Fuqua and Tyrese Tanner each had 12 points as 11 players cracked the scoring column for Coach Donnie Quinn’s Bucs. No player played more than 19 minutes in the contest.
Jada Williams had 16 points and Jatoria Carter 13 for the Lady Vols (25-11). Carter also had seven steals.
Class 6A Boys Semifinals
Bob Jones 69, Baker 64
Marquis Lindsey sank three free throws in the final four seconds Friday morning to lift Bob Jones over Baker 69-64 in the Class 6A state tournament semifinals.
Lindsey finished with a team-high 21 points for Coach Danny Petty’s Patriots (19-14), who now advance to the 6A championship game Saturday night at 7 p.m. for the third straight year. Lindsey nailed five 3-pointers and was 6-of-10 shooting overall.
Levi Randolph added 19 points and 10 rebounds and Jefferey Moss chipped in 13 points for Bob Jones.
Jason Holland paced Baker (29-6) with 21 points on the strength of three treys and 8-of-10 at the foul line. Lawyer Lily and Ronnie Martin added 17 points each with Lily also grabbing 11 rebounds.
Homewood 61, Central-Phenix City 47
Center Jeremy Watson scored 17 points and pulled down 16 rebounds Friday afternoon to lead Homewood to a 61-47 Class 6A state tournament semifinal win over Central-Phenix City.
With the win, the Patriots (31-4) moved into Saturday night’s state finals against Bob Jones at 7 p.m. Coach Tim Shepler’s Homewood team played in the finals in 2008.
Watson, a 6-foot-7 junior, was also 8-of-10 at the foul line in the final 1:06 to seal the win. Junior point guard Marvin Whitt also had a stellar game with 21 points, two steals and 9-of-13 at the charity stripe. He also engineered an offense that had just five turnovers for the entire game.
Winston Brooks added 12 points and sank both 3-pointers he attempted. Homewood was 8-of-20 from the 3-point line.
Central (26-4) got 18 points from Darren Daniel.
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