Eight Teams Win State Crowns
On Last Day of Final 48 Championships
The Carver-Montgomery boys claimed the Class 6A state title to join the Hoover girls, Wenonah boys, Brewer girls, Midfield boys, Jacksonville girls, Greensboro boys and Lauderdale County girls as champions in the 2012 Final 48 State Basketball Championships Saturday at the BJCC Arena in Birmingham.
Finals in Class 3A, 4A, 5A and 6A highlighted the final day of play.
Class 6A Boys Championship
Carver-Montgomery 61, Hazel Green 56
Craig Sword poured in 33 points, including 11-of-13 free throws, to lead Carver-Montgomery to a 61-56 victory over Hazel Green in the Class 6A boys state tournament finals, the Wolverines’ first since 1984.
Sword was selected MVP of the 6A tourney with a 10-of-19 shooting performance from the field and 11 rebounds. Jeremy Johnson added 16 points and eight rebounds and Tony Armstrong had eight points and seven rebounds for Coach James Jackson’s Wolverines (29-3).
Hazel Green (22-13), coached by Todd Jeffers, was led by sophomore Lewis Sullivan’s 18 points and Austin Dempsey’s 15 points. Willie Spencer added 10 points and five rebounds.
Carver has now won three AHSAA state titles, having taken back-to-back crowns in 1983 and 1984.
Named to the All-Tourney team with Sword were Carver’s Johnson, Sullivan and Spencer of Hazel Green, Devon Earl of Hoover and Romoane Eager of Murphy.
Class 6A Girls Championship
Hoover 44, Bob Jones 26
Hoover’s smothering defense limited defending state champion Bob Jones to just 12 second-half points and just two field goals in 15 tries as the Bucs claimed their second Class 6A girls championship in the last three seasons with a 44-26 win.
Hoover (31-3) led 15-14 at the half and was up just three points after three quarters before exploding for 21 points in the final frame. Nicole Tanner, the tournament MVP, led the scoring with 12 points and eight rebounds. Breigha Cochran and Kayla Anderson added 10 points each for Coach Donnie Quinn’s team.
Bob Jones (36-3) placed no one in double figures. Tierra Jones led with eight and Jasmine Jones, who played only 19 minutes due to foul trouble, had six.
Also named to the All-Tourney team with Tanner were teammates Cochran and Marq’ues Webb of Hoover, Jasmine Jones and Tierra Jones of Bob Jones and Jimecha Banks of Central-Phenix City.
Hoover and Bob Jones have now played four straight years in the finals. Bob Jones won in 2009 and 2011 with Hoover claiming the title in 2010 and 2012. Hoover also won a state crown in 2001.
Class 5A Boys Championship
Wenonah 65, Lee-Huntsville 58
Wenonah downed Lee-Huntsville 65-58 in the Class 5A boys finals for the second straight year to claim the school’s fourth state championship and second in a row.
The Dragons (31-7) and Generals (26-11) met in the finals last year with Wenonah pulling out an 89-85 come-from-behind win.
This time, Coach Cedric Lane’s team took the lead early in the second quarter and never trailed again. Tourney MVP Isaiah Maston keyed the win with 19 points, including five 3-pointers. Derunnya Wilson added 11 points and 15 rebounds. Chase Sadler and Keith Middleton had 10 points each.
Eric Robertson had 18 points for Coach Greg Brown’s Generals. Chester Rogers added 12 points and Mike Greer added seven points and a team-high 11 rebounds.
Wenonah also won boys titles in 1990, 1993 and 2011.
Maston was joined on the All-Tourney team by Wenonah teammates Sadler and Wilson, Greer and Robertson of Lee and Lorenzo McClain of Faith Academy.
Class 5A Girls Championship
Brewer 65, Valley 43
Riley Northway’s 23 points and six rebounds sparked Brewer to a 65-43 win over Valley in the Class 5A girls state finals – the first state championship in school history.
Northway was named MVP after hitting 10-of-16 shots from the field. Courtney Oldacre added 15 points and Rheagan Harvel 14 for Coach Ricky Allen’s Patriots (32-3). The team had just nine turnovers in what Allen called “our best game of the season.”
Audrianna Walker led Valley (26-3) with 14 points and Cadeisia Avery added eight.
Named to the 5A All-Tourney team with Northway were Harvel and Oldacre of Brewer, Walker and Alexia Huguley of Valley, Jasmine Rhodes of Faith Academy and Keonna Farmer of Center Point.
Class 4A Boys Championship
Midfield 46, Butler 45
Freshman Tawarren Grant’s 25-foot banked 3-point shot at the buzzer lifted Midfield over Butler 46-45 and gave the Patriots their first boys state championship since 1984.
The bucket also prevented Butler Coach Jack Doss from clinching his eighth state title. He is currently tied at seven with former R.C. Hatch coach Eugene Mason.
The shot by Grant gave Midfield (15-21) its only lead of the game.
The Rebels led 42-36 with 46 seconds remaining after Michael Anders made two free throws. But with his team trailing 44-40, Grant nailed a 3-pointer with seven seconds left to draw Coach Darrell Barber’s Patriots to within one. A free throw with five seconds remaining by Robert Steele boosted Butler to a 45-43 lead to set up the dramatic last play.
Grant finished with 10 points – going 2-of-6 from the 3-point line. Tourney MVP Brandon Moss scored all 13 of his points in the second half and finished with seven rebounds and three steals. Alvin Murry chipped in eight points.
Joining Moss on the All-Tourney team were Midfield’s Grant, Butler’s Steele and Justin Pride, Oneonta’s Keenan Warren and Escambia County’s Desmond Williams.
Class 4A Girls Championship
Jacksonville 63, Andalusia 54
Jacksonville High School senior Lacey Buchanon scored 29 points and handed out five assists to lead the Golden Eagles a 63-54 victory over Andalusia in the Class 4A State Tourney, giving the school its first girls state championship.
Coach Ryan Chambless’ Eagles (31-4) jumped out to a 36-23 halftime lead before the Bulldogs (30-3) of Coach Bennie Shellhouse came clawing back. The lead was cut to eight before the third quarter ended and was trimmed to two, 56-54, with 1:50 remaining.
Buchanon, named the tourney MVP, sank a lay-up and two free throws in the next 90 seconds to seal the win. Teammate Kenyatta Ervin added 10 points and 13 rebounds, and Sharon Osterbind had nine points and 10 rebounds.
Andalusia point guard Alexis Horton had 22 points, five steals and three assists to pace the Bulldogs. Shi’Amber Townsend chipped in 16 points and Tylesha Malcolm had a team-high 12 rebounds.
Named to the All-Tourney team along with Buchanon were Osterbind, Andalusia duo Townsend and Horton, Jasmine Steele of Midfield and Nina Mills of Good Hope.
Class 3A Boys Championship
Greensboro 65, Carbon Hill 50
Greensboro (27-6) captured its second Class 3A State boys championship in a row with a 65-50 win over Carbon Hill in the state finals.
Tournament MVP Takendrick Britford scored 19 points, including 9-of-12 at the foul line, to lead Coach Craig Williams’ Raiders. Kavoris Owens added 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Jimmie Taylor had 10 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots despite sitting out much of the second half with four fouls.
Tylor Owens led all scorers with 20 points and four assists for Carbon Hill. Gerald Smith added 12 points and Jacob Davis 11.
Named to the 3A All-Tourney team with Britford were Greensboro teammates Taylor and Kavoris Owens, Carbon Hill’s Tylor Owens and Smith, Kerryon Johnson of Madison Academy and Joshua Thomas of Montgomery Academy.
Class 3A Girls Championship
Lauderdale County 46, Greensboro 40
Lauderdale County turned to a smothering defense in the second half to overcome a nine-point deficit en route to a 46-40 victory over Greensboro in the Class 3A Girls State Tournament finals.
It was the ninth state championship for the Tigers (33-5), which hold the state record with eight titles – the first in 1987. Lauderdale County also won crowns in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2002, 2003 and 2006. It was their fifth since the Final 48 moved to Birmingham.
Coach Brant Llewellyn’s defense limited Greensboro to just 19 points in the second half after the Raiders took a 21-19 lead into halftime. Tournament MVP Chatara Cox and Karlee Brown were big reasons for Lauderdale County’s domination inside. Cox finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. Brown had a game-high nine rebounds and four steals.
Emma Wallen had 11 points and her triplet sister Ivy Wallen had eight points and five assists.
Greensboro (31-3) was led by Kasabrian Fields with 13 points. Freneta Long had nine points and Maleshia Williams eight, with a team-high seven rebounds.
Joining Cox on the All-Tourney team was Emma Wallen of Lauderdale County, Fields and Malesha
Williams of Greensboro, Lydia McGee of Madison Academy and Miah Brooks of Montgomery Academy.