Final 48 Second Day Features Classes 3A And 4A    


    BIRMINGHAM—The second day of action in the Final 48 State Basketball Championships here Wednesday at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex featured Classes 3A and 4A girls and boys semifinal rounds.
Class 3A Girls Semifinals
Madison Academy 64, Montgomery Academy 46
   Amara Mayers had 20 points and Lydia McGee and Nyla Johnson 13 each as Madison Academy downed Montgomery Academy 64-46 to advance to Saturday morning’s 9 o'clock Class 3A girls state finals.
   Mayers also had six steals and sank two 3-point goals for the Mustangs (35-3). Lydia McGee added had eight rebounds, three assists and three steals.
   Montgomery Academy (29-2) was paced by Layne Docton’s 12 points and Meredith Lee’s 10. The Lady Eagles’ only other loss this season was to Brewbaker Tech, which clinched a spot in the 4A state finals earlier in the day.
    Madison Academy will be playing in its third straight Class 3A state championship game. Coach Brian Privett’s Mustangs lost to Sumter County 53-50 last season and to T.R. Miller 53-50 in 2009.

Danville 56, Sumter County 41
    Danville guard Kayloni Cross sank three 3-point goals early to spark a 17-4 first-quarter run as the Lady Hawks posted a 56-41 win over defending state champion Sumter County in the Final 48 Class 3A girls semifinals.
   Cross finished with 18 points, including 4-of-8 from beyond the 3-point arc, and six rebounds for Danville (29-5), which now moves into Saturday 9.a.m. Class 3A championship game versus Madison Academy (35-3).
     Ashley Nance also had 19 points and 13 rebounds and Celese Sharbutt chipped in eight points and cleared 10 rebounds.
     Sumter County (24-8) trailed 31-13 at the half, but cut the lead to 33-25 with a 12-2 rally to start the second half. Juanice Newton had 15 points and Doretha Holloway 11 to spark the comeback.

Class 3A Boys Semifinals
Clarke County 61, Piedmont 44
   Cor’Derrio Hasewood and Jamal Harris combined for 43 points to lead fast-paced Clarke County (28-3) to a 61-44 victory over Piedmont in the semifinals of the Final 48 Class 3A boys tournament.
   Hasewood had 23 points and 11 rebounds, was a perfect 6-of-6 at the foul line and sank 5-of-8 3-point tries.   Harris had 20 points and was 4-of-5 on free throws.
    Piedmont (27-9), which was 0-of-11 on 3-pointers in the first half, got 15 points from Sloan Garner. The 6-foot-6 junior also had two blocked shots and two steals. Jamaal Johnson added eight points and seven rebounds.
            Coach Kendrick Davis’ Bulldogs will play Greensboro in the Class 3A finals Saturday at 11 a.m.

Greensboro 58, Carbon Hill 46
   Cracking Greensboro's tall armor on defense proved to be just too much in the end Wednesday night as the Raiders handed Carbon Hill just its second loss of the season with the 58-46 win in the Class 3A boys semifinals.
   A big, big reason was 6-foot-9 sophomore center Jimmie Taylor, said Carbon Hill coach Robert Epps. “He made us adjust everything we did,” he said.
   Taylor had just six points but cleared eight rebounds, blocked four shots and also came out to the perimeter time and time again to limit Carbon Hill shooting guard Conner Young’s clear shots from the 3-point line.
 Charvis Teacher and Miguel Shelton had 14 points each to pace Greensboro (27-6) offensively. Teacher was 4-of-5 at the foul line and Shelton was 4-of-6. Shelton also had eight rebounds.
   Carbon Hill (30-2) got 18 points from Tylor Owens and 11 from Brandon Smith. Owens and Smith also connected on two alley-oop dunks with Owens providing the above-the-rim pass to his freshman cousin. Young added seven points.
   Greensboro, which out-rebounded the Bulldogs 41-32, advances to the Class 3A state finals for the first time in school history against Clarke County at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Class 4A Girls Semifinals
Brewbaker Tech 54, Guntersville 34
    Brewbaker Tech outscored Guntersville 18-2 in the final quarter and cruised to a 54-34 victory in the 4A semifinals.
   The Lady Rams (28-6) led 37-32 heading into the final minutes, but center Marques Webb took over inside to lead the rally. The 6-foot sophomore finished with a game-high 16 points and 21 rebounds. Tabitha Bradshaw added 15 points and Ashley Asouzu had 11 points and seven rebounds.
   Guntersville (20-11) was led by Caroline Bridges’ 11 points and seven rebounds. Brewbaker Tech will play the Class 4A championship game Friday night at 6 p.m.

Midfield 49, Good Hope 27

    Midfield limited Good Hope to just eight field goals for the game Thursday on the way to a 49-27 win in the semifinals of the Final 48 Class 4A state tournament. The victory sends the Lady Patriots (21-13) into the state finals and sets up a chance to win the school’s fifth straight state title.

    Jasmine Steele scored 33 points to pace Coach Reggie Ware’s Pats. She also had 13 rebounds.   Gabrielle Nicholson added seven points.

    Kayla Tillman’s eight points led Good Hope (29-5).

    Midfield will play Brewbaker Tech in the finals Friday night at 6 p.m. The Patriots won 4A state titles in 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2007 and was Class 3A runner-up in 2005.


Class 4A Boys Semifinals 
Anniston 61, Hillcrest-Evergreen 46
    Lassheddrick Edmondson scored 33 points to lead Anniston to a 61-46 win over Hillcrest-Evergreen as the Bulldogs (21-9) clinched a spot in the Class 4A boys state finals.
   Edmondson was 5-of-9 on 3-point tries, 12-of-17 at the foul line and also had six steals for Coach Schuessler Ware’s Bulldogs. Jabril Snodgrass added 15 points.
    Hillcrest (25-7) was led by Deaundre Lyons’ 19 points and 12 by Chris Joyner. Carry Smith also had 10 rebounds.
    Anniston will play Butler in Friday night’s 8 p.m. finals.

Butler 64, Midfield 42
    Senior Trevor Lacey led a balanced Butler scoring attack with 19 points and the Rebel (31-2) moved into the Class 4A state boys finals with a 64-42 win over Midfield.
   Lacey, last year’s Mr. Basketball as selected by the Alabama Sports Writers Association, came into the contest averaging almost 33 points a game. He distributed the ball to his teammates while limiting his own shot total to just 16 for the game. Lacey handed out five assists. Devreon Everson added 13 points, point guard Justin Pride had 11 and Lacey’s younger brother Travion, a junior, had 10.
   Midfield (22-10), which made its first Final 48 appearance since 1994, was led by Corey Dobyne’s 11 points. Andrew Gilmore and Brian Bender added 10 each.
   Butler will face Anniston in the finals Friday night at 8 p.m.
 
     
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