AA State Semi-Finals

Cougars, Cadets to battle for title

By Darron Thomas

It has all come down to one game, a game that is a result of a season’s worth of hard work and dedication. Two teams will fight for the right to claim the title AA State Champions. Brookhaven will be seeking to do what no other MPSA team has ever done, win five straight state championships. Chamberlain-Hunt has entered foreign territory and is a substantial underdog against the Cougars but, if I had to guess, that’s probably the way head coach David Granville wants it.
On Friday night the Chamberlain-Hunt Cadets entered the semi-final match up against Bowling Green as underdogs after losing to the Buccaneers just one week ago in the AA South State semi-finals. After the first five minutes of the opening quarter it looked as though the Cadets were in for a long night as Bowling Green jumped out to a 10-3 lead after a Shod Fortenberry basket. Chase Deculus kept the Cadets close as the sophomore converted on a basket plus one with 2:37 left in the quarter and after a Jaron Edwards 12 footer from the baseline put Bowling Green back up 12-6 Deculus hit another basket to pull the Cadets to within four at 12-8. Bowling Green’s Andrew Wood would hit a 8 foot jumper to end the quarter with Bowling Green up 14-8.
Bowling Green opened the second quarter with a Shod Fortenberry basket to go up 16-8 but Chamberlain-Hunt answered with six straight, a Keeniel Weaver basket and two David Hahn scores with 4:56 left in the quarter trimmed the deficit to 16-14. Two Andrew Wood 3-pointers and a 3-pointer from sophomore Buster Brown pushed Bowling Green’s lead back to eleven at 25-14 with 2:45 left in the opening quarter. Each team would trade baskets on the next two possessions and a David Hahn turnaround jumper ended the first half with the Cadets trailing Bowling Green 29-20.

(Above) Chamberlain-Hunt center David Hahn led the Cadets with 26 points
Jaron Edwards opened the third quarter with a steal and bucket to extend the Bowling Green lead to 31-20. It was at this point in the game that the Cadets turned to their “Uze” for help. Ifanyi Uzuegbunum is affectionately nicknamed “Uze” and the junior guard would score nine of his thirteen points in the quarter to keep the Cadets close. Another junior guard, Keeniel Weaver, gave Chamberlain-Hunt their first lead of the night at 36-35 on a steal and basket with 46 seconds left in the quarter. David Hahn nailed a 6 foot turnaround jumper with 7 seconds remaining to extend the lead to 38-35 after three quarters of play.
Bowling Green jumped back on top on two Jaron Edwards 3-pointers and an Edwards free throw at the 6:10 mark increased the Buc’s lead to 42-38. With Bowling Green up 45-43 Josh McNair hit a bucket with 3:15 left to tie the game at 45-45, and a David Hahn deuce followed by two Chase Deculus free throws had the Cadets holding a 49-45 lead with 2:12 remaining in regulation. Jaron Edwards pulled Bowling Green back to within two at 49-47 with a floater over David Hahn. Over the next 1:20 two Cadet turnovers set the stage for Dylan Varnado who calmly nailed a 10 footer to tie the game at 49-49 with 29 seconds left. Chamberlain-Hunt turned the ball over again on their next possession but Bowling Green could not convert as they game headed into overtime.
In the first overtime period Bowling Green would get two Jaron Edwards free throws to go up 51-49, but an Ifanyi Uze basket with just over two minutes left tied the game again at 51-51. Dylan Varnado gave Bowling Green the lead again at 53-51 on a 8 foot jumper with 1:26 left. After a Chamberlain-Hunt turnover Bowling Green got to the free throw line but couldn’t convert with 45 seconds left and on the Cadets possession center David Hahn was fouled with 19 seconds on the clock. The 7 footer missed both free throws but Ifanyi Uze grabbed the second miss and converted a bucket to tie the game at 53-53 with 16 seconds left in the first overtime period. Bowling Green’s shot to win fell short and the first overtime period ended at 53-53.
Chamberlain-Hunt went up 55-53 quickly on a David Hahn basket at the 3:30 mark of the second overtime period and the Cadets converted three free throws over the next two minutes to increase the lead to 58-53 with just over a minute left. Bowling Green battled back with Shod Fortenberry nailing two free throws and a Blake McGehee steal and basket with 31 seconds left pulled the Bucs back to within one at 58-57. Chamberlain-Hunt’s Keeniel Weaver was fouled with 18 seconds left and converted on one of two free throws to give the Cadets a 59-57 lead. On Bowling Green’s possession Chamberlain-Hunt committed a foul on a loose ball, but with 8 seconds on the clock the Buccaneers couldn’t convert at the line. David Hahn was fouled and sank two free throws with 5 seconds left to secure a 61-57 double overtime win.
Chamberlain-Hunt was led by David Hahn with 26 points, Ifanyi Uzuebunum added 13, Chase Deculus had 10, Keeniel Weaver 9, Josh Mcnair 2, and Jalen Ellinton 1.
Jaron Edwards led Bowling Green with 26 points, Andrew Wood and Shod Fortenberry added 11 each, Dylan Varnado 4, Buster Brown 3, and Blake McGehee 2.
Chamberlain-Hunt improved to 20-7 with the win and will match up with Brookhaven tonight at 7:15pm for the AA State Championship.
Bowling Green slipped to 29-6 and will face Lee Academy in the consolation game at 6:00pm.

In the second semi-final game last night the Lee Academy Colts, fresh off a first round upset of Trinity, faced the Brookhaven Cougars for the right to meet Chamberlain-Hunt in tonight’s championship game. Lee’s hopes of pulling off the second semi-final upset of the night held firm throughout the first quarter as the Colts spotted Brookhaven a 9-3 lead after a Jeremy Foster 3-pointer with 3:37 to go in the quarter but battled back to within one point at 9-8 on two Douglas Smith free throws at the 2:21 mark. Brookhaven’s Blaine Roberts would drain a basket from the elbow to give the Cougars a 11-8 lead after one quarter.

(Above) Josh Winborne (#14) led the Cougars with 15 points
After an Anthony Steen free throw one minute into the second quarter pulled the Colts to within two at 11-9 the defending state champs would go on a trademark Brookhaven run the remaining seven minutes which was highlighted by 3-point baskets from Jeremy Foster and Josh Winborne to take a 25-13 advantage into the half.
The run continued into the third quarter as Brookhaven’s Sidney Chaffin nailed a 3-pointer at the 7:34 mark followed by buckets from Jake Reed and Josh Winborne to extend the lead to 32-13 with just over six minutes left in the quarter. Brookhaven garnered their biggest lead at 42-20 on another Winborne basket at the 2:29 mark. Lee’s Douglas Smith mustered up a deuce to end the quarter with the Cougars enjoying a comfortable 42-22 lead heading into the final period.
Brookhaven wouldn’t allow the Lee Colts to within 21 points in the fourth quarter and at the 4:48 mark the Cougars earned their biggest lead of the night at 50-24 on an assist from Blaine Roberts to Jeremy Foster. The Cougars advanced to tonight’s title game with a convincing 56-29 win. (Above) Lee Academy had trouble cracking the Brookhaven defense
Brookhaven (28-9) was led by senior Josh Winborne with 15 points, Jake Reed added 11, Jeremy Foster and Sidney Chaffin had 8 each, Jamison Powell 6, Blaine Roberts 5, and Jake Shelby 2.
Douglas Smith led Lee with 11 points, Patrick Clark, Chase Crompton, and Anthony Steen had 5 each, and Trent Williams 3.
Lee and Bowling Green will play the consolation game this evening at 6:00pm followed by the championship game between Brookhaven and Chamberlain-Hunt.

Leake and Marshall to decide girls championship

In the girls semi-final early game yesterday Oak Forest’s quest for a state championship was halted by the Lady Patriots of Marshall 50-45. The Lady Jackets got off to an impressive start after an Ashlyn Neal basket put OFA up 8-3 with just over four minutes left in the opening quarter. A Lindsey Oliver basket on the Lady Jacket’s next possession extended the lead to 10-3, but Marshall would finish the quarter by outscoring Oak Forest 9-2 highlighted by an Emily Burk 3-pointer to tie the game with 5 seconds left in the period.
Marshall gained their first lead at 13-12 on a Kelsey Shaw free throw to start the second quarter but a Cassie Bennett turnaround jumper from 7 feet put the Lady Jackets back on top at 14-13 with 7:28 on the clock. In an exciting second quarter that included four lead changes and a tie Marshall would get two 12 foot jumpers from senior Traci Rodgers to finish the half with a 23-22 lead.

(Above) Marshall's Traci Rodgers (#4) defended by Brittani Roy of Oak Forest
Marshall came out in the second half on fire from the field as Traci Rodgers picked up where she left off before the half. Rodgers hit a bucket 20 seconds into the third quarter and Kelsey Shaw nailed a 3-pointer to give the Lady Patriots a 28-22 lead with 7:00 left in the quarter. At the 5:00 mark another Marshall 3-pointer pushed the lead to 34-26 resulting in an Oak Forest timeout. A Rodgers drive and bucket in the lane gave Marshall their biggest lead at 36-26 with four minutes left in the third quarter. With 10 seconds left in the quarter a Lindsey Oliver bucket pulled Oak Forest to within seven at 39-32 heading into the final period.
Lauren Brumfield’s offensive rebound and put back started the fourth quarter and cut the Lady Jacket deficit to five at 39-34, then with 5:41 left Cassie Bennett converted two free throws to make it a 41-38 contest. Following a Marshall turnover, Ashlyn Neal’s basket pulled the Lady Jackets to within one at 41-40 with 4:50 remaining. A Callie Canton free throw increased the lead to 42-40 but a Lauren Brumfield assist to Ashlyn Neal tied things up at 42-42 with just under three minutes left in the game. Both squads traded turnovers before Cassie Bennett nailed down two free throws with 1:55 left to give Oak Forest a 44-42 lead. Lauren Brumfield converted on one of two free throws to give the Lady Jackets a three point lead at 45-42 with 57 seconds left in the game. Marshall would then pull down an offensive rebound and get a basket with 42 seconds left to pull to 45-44 and took the lead at 46-45 after another Oak Forest turnover on two Traci Rodgers free throws with 27 seconds left on the clock. Rodgers was put back on the line following a Lady Jacket turnover and nailed two more to increase the lead to 48-45 with 19 seconds left. An Oak Forest 3-point attempt fell short with 9 seconds on the clock. Marshall’s Traci Rodgers was fouled and went back to the line and hit two more free throws to cement a 50-45 win and a trip into today’s championship game.

(Above) Lindsey Oliver (#10) of Oak Forest surveys the Marshall defense
Marshall got a game high 22 points from Traci Rodgers, Emily Burk added 12, Callie Clanton had 8, Molly West and Kelsey Shaw had 4 each.
Oak Forest (33-4) was led by Cassie Bennett with 14 points, Ashlyn Neal added 12, Lauren Brumfield 9, Lindsey Oliver 6, and Brittani Roy 4.

In the second girls semi-final match up the Leake Lady Rebels squared off against the Brookhaven Lady Cougars to earn the right to face Marshall for the AA State Championship. Leake entered the game as the defending state champions and current #1 team in AA basketball.
Laura Beth Wright got things started with a basket to put Brookhaven up early at 2-0. Emily Kea’s offensive rebound and put back got Leake on the board at the 6:51 mark of the opening quarter. The Lady Rebels grabbed their first lead at 6-4 on two Hannah Peoples free throws with 4:19 left in the first quarter. Following an Emily Kea basket to up the Leake lead to 8-4 Brookhaven freshman Terah Winborne converted on two fast break baskets and a free throw to vault the Lady Cougars to a 9-8 lead with 2:38 left in the quarter. Leake then outscored Brookhaven 6-2 to finish the quarter with a slim 14-11 advantage.

(Above) Brookhavens's Anna Mangold (#33) calls for the ball
A 10-0 run from four different scorers ran the Leake lead out to 24-11 at the halfway point of the second quarter. Brookhaven got a Nicole Smith basket with 2:53 left in the half and an Anna Mangold bucket off an inbounds play to cut the lead to 24-15 with 1:43 left in the third quarter. Leake would take a 28-17 cushion into halftime on an Emily Kea 15 footer off the glass at the buzzer.
Despite a huge 12 point third quarter from Leake’s Emily Kea, the Lady Cougars stayed within striking distance and played Leake to a 12-10 third quarter, advantage Leake.
Brookhaven entered the final quarter looking at a 40-27 deficit and could get no closer than nine points until an Anna Lofton 3-pointer got the Lady Cougars to within eight at 48-40 with 2:53 left in the game. The Leake lead dwindled to six at 50-44 on a Laura Beth Wright jumper from the free throw line with 1:58 left on the clock. Leake increased their lead to 55-47 on a Jenny Wilbanks free throw with 23 seconds left. A Laura Beth Wright bucket made it 55-49 with 12 seconds on the clock and Hannah Peoples added another free throw with 7 seconds remaining to push the lead to 56-49. Brookhaven’s Summer Calhoun hit a 3-pointer at the horn to provide the final points of the night and a final score of 56-52.

The Leake Lady Rebels advance to today’s championship battle with Marshall with a tip time of 2:15pm.

Leake’s Emily Kea had a game high 32 points on 16/22 shooting from the field, Hannah Peoples added 13 points, Jenny Wilbanks had 7, and Char’Lesa Tadlock 4.

Brookhaven was led by Laura Beth Wright with 15 points, Terah Winborne added 11, Anna Lofton 9, Anna Mangold 8, Nicole Smith 6, and Summer Calhoun 3.

The Lady Cougars will play Oak Forest at 1:00pm today in the girls consolation game.