AA South State Championship Saturday

Bowling Green, Oak Forest claim AA South Titles
By Darron Thomas
The AA South State Tournament concluded last night in Gallman, Mississippi with Bowling Green winning the boys championship and Oak Forest capturing the girls. Both District 5AA squads will enter next week’s state tournament in Brookhaven as #1 seeds.

It was this time one year ago that Bowling Green and Trinity faced each other for the AA South State Championship in Columbia, Mississippi. In that contest the Trinity Saints would deal Bowling Green their first loss of the season in a bitter 50-38 defeat. The Buccaneers graduated all five starters from last season’s 33-3 team and many questions would arise as to how well Bowling Green would compete this season. That question was answered last night in Gallman as Bowling Green overcame a 25-21 halftime deficit to beat the Trinity Saints 63-57 to claim their first AA South State Championship since 1998.

Bowling Green started the contest with two quick baskets, one on a Dean King lay-in and the second on a Shod Fortenberry 12 foot jumper with 6:44 left in the opening quarter. The pace then slowed as both teams combined for only nine points to finish out the first quarter with Bowling Green up 9-4.

Trinity would grab their first lead of the game at the 5:00 mark of the second quarter at 12-11 on a Giovonni Dent 8 foot floater. With Trinity up 14-13 and 4:36 left in the half a Shod Fortenberry offensive rebound and basket put Bowling Green back on top at 15-14 which would set up maybe the most memorable basket of the tournament. On Trinity’s next possession Bowling Green junior Jaron Edwards got his hands on a Trinity turnover and threw down a monstrous dunk that caused the crowd to erupt and gave the Buccaneers a 17-14 lead. What seemed to be a huge momentum shift soon fizzled as Trinity showed why they’ve been ranked in the top 5 all season long. The Saints finished the quarter, which had five lead changes, on an impressive 11-4 run sparked by Jackson Bryant’s six points to give Trinity a 25-21 halftime advantage over Bowling Green.
(Below) Bowling Green's Shod Fortenberry (#20) defends against Trinity's Andrew Johnson (#23)

Bowling Green answered the Trinity run by scoring the first six points of the third quarter to put the Bucs back on top at 27-25. A Bryant Pearson basket with 5:48 left in the quarter would give Trinity a lead at 28-27, but that lead was short lived as Bowling Green’s Blake McGehee nailed a 3-pointer and a Fortenberry five footer of the glass gave Bowling Green a 36-31 cushion with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter. Trinity came right back with five straight points to knot things up at 36-36 at the 3:00 minute mark, but in the last two and a half minutes of the quarter three Blake McGehee baskets and a Jaron Edwards 3-pointer with 23 seconds left gave Bowling Green a 45-40 lead heading into the final period.

A Jaron Edwards assist to Shod Fortenberry for a bucket started out the fourth quarter and an Edwards 10 foot floater gave Bowling Green their biggest lead of the game at 49-40 with 6:20 left. RJ Fleming’s 3-pointer brought Trinity back to within seven at 55-48, and after two Jaron Edwards free throws, Brandon Daggs would drain a 3-pointer from twenty three feet as Trinity pulled to 57-51 with 2:43 left in the game. That lead shrunk to four at 57-53 on an Andrew Johnson offensive rebound and basket following a Bowling Green turnover. Shod Fortenberry would convert on one of two free throws to put the Bucs up 58-53 with 1:59 left and on Trinity’s next possession Bowling Green fouled Giovonni Dent who canned two free throws to pull the Saints to within three at 58-55 with 1:47 left in the game. Dylan Varnado made one of two free throws and Trinity center Andrew Johnson pulled down an offensive rebound and scored to get the Saints to within two at 59-57 with 1:22 remaining. Bowling Green’s Blake McGehee and Andrew Wood would sink four free throws in the final minute to preserve the 63-57 championship win.

“It was a great win for us tonight” said Bowling Green head coach Pat King. “It means a lot to our program and it’s the first South State Championship for Bowling Green since 1998. Tonight we had some great individual performances but it was a total team win. I pray that with this win our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be exalted.”

Bowling Green got a game high 26 points from junior Shod Fortenberry. Jaron Edwards added 17, Blake McGehee had 15, Andrew Wood and Dean King had 2 each, and Dylan Varnado 1.

Trinity was led by RJ Fleming, Brandon Daggs, and Giovonni Dent with 13 each, Andrew Johnson added 10, Jackson Bryant 6, and Bryant Pearson 2.

Bowling Green will move into the top spot in the AA rankings with a 28-5 record and will be matched up against Marshall next week at the state tournament in Brookhaven. Marshall is the #4 seed from the north.

Trinity, 28-8 and the #2 seed from the south, will be paired up next week with the #3 seed from the north, Lee Academy.


In the girl’s championship contest yesterday the Brookhaven Lady Cougars were pitted up against the Oak Forest Lady Jackets to determine the AA South State Championship and the #1 seed heading into next week’s state tournament in Brookhaven. Brookhaven entered yesterday’s game on a 22 game winning streak and a 33-4 record. Oak Forest went in fresh off winning the District 5AA Tournament after posting a perfect 10-0 regular season district mark. The last time these two squads were paired up was in the Brookhaven Christmas Tournament championship game in which Brookhaven edged out a two point victory over the Lady Jackets. Yesterday’s title game would prove to be just as exciting as Oak Forest erased a Brookhaven seven point second half lead to win the AA South State Championship 43-42.

In a first quarter that would be indicative of the entire game neither team could gain separation from the other as Brookhaven grabbed a 7-4 lead on an Anna Mangold feed to Laura Beth Wright with 3:37 to go in the opening quarter. Oak Forest Lady Jacket Cassie Bennett responded with two of her six points in the quarter on a 12 footer to pull to within one at 7-6. The quarter ended with Brookhaven holding a narrow 11-10 advantage.

The second quarter proved to be a defensive battle as neither team was able to mount an offensive run. Brookhaven did go up 16-10 in the quarter on two Laura Beth Wright free throws with 4:57 remaining until halftime. A Lauren Brumfield 3-pointer followed by a Brittani Roy bucket pulled the deficit back to one at 16-15 with 2:51 to go. Brookhaven increased the lead at 19-15 but Jessica McClendon would nail a basket with 14 seconds left to keep the Lady Jackets close at 19-17 as the half ended.

In the third quarter Oak Forest would take their first lead since 2-0 on a Lauren Brumfield 3-pointer to put the Lady Jackets up 22-20 at the 5:34 mark. A Cassie Bennett 17 footer from the baseline gave Oak Forest their biggest lead at 24-20 but Anna Mangold would throw in a bucket and free throw to start a Brookhaven 11-0 run to give the Lady Cougars a 31-24 lead with 56 seconds remaining in the third quarter. With the momentum having swung Brookhaven’s way Oak Forest was able to get a little back as they canned two baskets, one from Cassie Bennett and another from Ashlyn Neal on an inbounds play, to end the third quarter trailing only 31-28.
(Below) Cassie Bennett of Oak Forest with two of her 16 points

Oak Forest stayed within striking distance early on in the final quarter, and following a Brookhaven turnover, Lindsey Oliver made one of two free throws to knot things up at 34-34 with just over five minutes left in the game. Brookhaven added a free throw to go back up by one at 35-34 and with 4:34 left in the fourth quarter Oak Forest senior Cassie Bennett garnered her fourth personal foul. Nicole Smith canned one of two free throws to put Brookhaven up 36-34. Both teams traded baskets and, with 2:46 remaining in the game, Ashlyn Neal rebounded an Anna Mongold miss. An Oak Forest timeout at 1:51 would set the stage for the biggest shot of the game. Lauren Brumfield’s 3-pointer with 1:35 left in the game put Oak Forest on top 41-38. Cassie Bennett would foul out with 1:16 left putting Nicole Smith at the line. The senior canned both free throws to pull the Lady Cougars to within one point at 41-40. Oak Forest would get their next basket from Bennett’s replacement. Senior Marissa Cannon would get free under the basket to score the biggest two points of her life with 1:07 left to put Oak Forest up 43-40. A Brookhaven turnover with 55 seconds left seemed to have signaled an end to the game but an Oak Forest missed jump shot from 12 feet gave the Lady Cougars new life. Brookhaven freshman Laura Beth Wright calmly nailed a basket with 27 seconds left to cut the margin to 43-42. Oak Forest was put at the free throw line with 8 seconds remaining but missed the front end of a one and one. Brookhaven was then fouled with 2.6 seconds left in the contest but they too missed the front end of a one and one.

Oak Forest took a hard fought 43-42 AA South State Championship win. “Our seniors really stepped up defensively in the fourth quarter” said Oak Forest head coach Jody Fekete. “We kind of feel like we have a monkey off our backs now in winning south state and it should give us some momentum heading into next week’s state tournament.”

Oak Forest had three players in double figures in yesterday’s game, Cassie Bennett led all scorers with 16 points, Lauren Brumfield added 10 points (three 3-pointers), Ashlyn Neal had 10, Brittani Roy, Marissa Cannon, and Jessica McClendon had 2 each, and Lindsey Oliver 1.

Anna Mangold led Brookhaven with 14 points, Laura Beth Wright added 11, Nicole Smith 7, Marion Allen and Terah Winborne 4 each, and Anna Lofton 2.

Oak Forest improves to 32-3 and will play Manchester (#4 seed from the north) at next week’s state tournament.

Brookhaven (33-5) will match up with #3 seed Indianola.

(Above) Bowling Green's Blake McGehee had 15 points on the night (Above) Lindsey Oliver (#10) defends Laura Beth Wright of Brookhaven
(Above) Trinity's RJ Fleming surveys the Bowling Green defense(Above) Brookhaven's Nicole Smith with a 3-point attempt
Hats of to the folks at Copiah Academy. They did an outstanding job and made everyone feel welcomed. I made 20 of the 24 games played at the tournament so, needless to say, I'm a bit worn down. But I'll will be juiced back up come Tuesday as the state tourney gets underway at Brookhaven. It will be fun to see and cover the teams from the north next week. If you see me come say hello and lets talk basketball.

God is great!

see ya..........

Boy's Semi-Finals

Trinity, Bowling Green in AA South State Title Game
By Darron Thomas
In boys AA South State semi-final action last night the Trinity Saints went head to head with the Brookhaven Cougars for the fourth time this season. The last time these two squads met Brookhaven stormed back from a late fourth quarter deficit to edge Trinity at the end. Last night’s game had all the makings of another great high school basketball game.

It didn’t take long for fans to notice the defensive intensity from both teams in what would become a very physical contest that would result in over forty fouls called. Trinity grabbed a 6-4 lead on two Giovonni Dent free throws halfway through the opening quarter. A Jamison Powell lay-in at the 4:25 mark would tie things up at 6-6. Trinity would stretch the slim lead to 13-9 on a Dent offensive rebound and put back with just over two minutes remaining in the quarter. Jake Reed then convert on two free throws to trim the deficit to 13-11, but Trinity’s Kent King would finish the quarter with a driving basket to put the Saints up 15-11 after one quarter of play. (Above) Trinity's Brandon Daggs with a drive to the basket
Trinity would get their largest lead of the game at 24-19 on an RJ Fleming basket with 2:24 left in the half. Trinity’s Brandon Daggs picked up his fourth foul with 1:40 remaining in the half. Blaine Roberts converted on two free throws to pull the Cougars to within three at 24-21. Giovonni Dent’s driving basket gave Trinity another five point lead at 26-21 at the 1:00 mark. Trinity center Andrew Johnson joined teammate Brandon Daggs on the bench after picking up his fourth foul with 26 seconds left in the half. Jake Reed would hit one of two free throws to end the quarter with Trinity up 26-22.

(Above) Brookhaven's Jamison Powell
RJ Fleming hit a basket three minutes into the third quarter to give Trinity their biggest lead of the night at 30-24. A Jeremy Foster 3-pointer with three minutes to go in the quarter pulled Brookhaven to 33-30 but the Cougars lost Jake Reed to the bench as the junior picked up his fourth foul with 2:33 remaining in the third. Jamison Powell converted on a six foot jumper in the paint at the 1:08 mark as the Cougars pulled to within one at 33-32. Jeremy Winbourne garnered his fifth foul with one second remaining in the quarter putting Giovonni Dent at the line. Dent would hit on one of two free throws to put the Saints up 34-22 after three quarters.

Both Brandon Daggs and Andrew Johnson started the final quarter after sitting out the entire third quarter with foul trouble. Giovonni Dent’s basket put Trinity up 36-32 with six minutes remaining in the game. Andrew Johnson’s stay in the game didn’t last long as the senior collected his fifth foul with 5:32 left in the game. Jake Reed brought Brookhaven back to within two at 36-34 with 2:17 remaining and a Trinity charging call gave the possession back to the Cougars. Blaine Robert’s drive to the basket with 1:54 left drew a foul and the bucket. Roberts converted the free throw to give Brookhaven their first lead since 4-2 in the opening quarter. That 37-36 advantage didn’t last long as RJ Fleming hit a bucket as Trinity regained the lead at 38-37 with 1:33 remaining. Jake Reed put Brookhaven back on top at 39-38 with a short range bucket with 59 seconds left. With 19 seconds on the clock Brandon Daggs would record his only points of the second half on a five foot floater that rolled around the rim before falling through. On Brookhaven’s next possession Jamison Powell would get fouled with three seconds remaining in the game. After a Trinity time out Powell missed the front end of a one and one. Giovonni Dent pulled down the rebound and was immediately fouled with two seconds left. Dent nailed both free throws as the Trinity Saints advanced to today’s championship game with a 42-39 win over the Brookhaven Cougars.
Trinity was led by Giovonni Dent with 15 points, Brandon Daggs added 10, RJ Fleming 7, Andrew Johnson 4, Kent King 3, and Jackson Bryant 2.
Blaine Roberts led Brookhaven with 13 points, Jake Reed added 9, Jamison Powell 7, Sidney Chaffin 4, Jeremy Foster and Josh Winborne with 3 each.

(Above) Bowling Green's big man Shod Fortenberry contains Wildcat center David Hahn
In the first boys semi-final game last night Chamberlain-Hunt jumped out to an early 6-0 lead on Bowling Green. The Buccaneers would get on the board with a Jaron Edwards basket at the 4:29 mark of the opening quarter. An Andrew Wood 3-pointer would bring Bowling Green to within one at 6-5 but Chamberlain-Hunt center David Hahn converted on an inbounds lob to put the Wildcats up 8-5 with 3:31 left in the quarter. Bowling Green would get two Shod Fortenberry baskets and a Jaron Edwards basket with five seconds on the clock to complete a 10-0 run to finish the first quarter up 15-8.
Chamberlain-Hunt cut the deficit to 15-12 on a David Hahn basket at 6:25 of the second quarter but the Wildcats would only convert one basket the rest of the quarter. Bowling Green stretched the lead to 27-17 on two Shod Fortenberry free throws after David Hahn was called for his third foul with 31 seconds left in the first half.
Chamberlain-Hunt was unsuccessful in cutting into the Bowling Green lead in the third period as the Bucs took a 44-33 advantage into the final period.
A Dean King 12 foot jumper would give Bowling Green their biggest lead of the night at 51-37 with 4:49 left in the contest. Bowling Green would secure the semi-final win with Shod Fortenberry canning four of six free throws down the stretch as the Buccaneers earned a 57-44 win over the Chamberlain-Hunt Wildcats.

Bowling Green was led by Jaron Edwards with 28 points, Shod Fortenberry added 10, Blake McGehee had 9, Andrew Wood 6, Dylan Varnado 4, and Dean King 2.
Chamberlain-Hunt got 14 points from Keeniel Weaver, David Hahn added 13, Chase Deculus 9, Josh McNair and Ifanyi Uzegbunum had 4 each.

(Above) Chase Deculus (#3) of Chamberlain-Hunt
Brookhaven and Chamberlain-Hunt will lock horns tonight at 6:00pm in the consolation match up.
Trinity and Bowling Green will meet in the championship game for the second consecutive year. The Saints handed Bowling Green their first loss of the season in last year’s 50-38 win. Tonight’s tip is scheduled for 7:15pm.

Girl's Semi-Finals

(Above) Lauren Brumfield (#5) of Oak Forest takes a charge against Trinity

Oak Forest , Brookhaven girls to face off for South State Title
By Darron Thomas
In yesterday’s first semi-final contest the Oak Forest Lady Jackets put together a 36 point second half to eliminate Trinity 52-30 and advance to today’s AA south State Championship game against Brookhaven.
Oak Forest would get out to a strong start and ended the opening quarter up 12-5 over the Lady Saints. But in the second quarter Oak Forest struggled to find any rhythm on offense and was only able to muster four points in the quarter while Trinity put up eight, two of which came on two Lesley Pomeroy free throws to end the half and pull the Lady Saints to within three at 16-13.

(Above) Lesley Pomeroy of Trinity shooting over Cassie Bennett of Oak Forest
A Caroline Ketchings 3-pointer to open the third quarter knotted things up at 16-16. Ashlyn Neal would convert on one of two free throws to put Oak Forest back on top 17-16 and Cassie Bennett’s basket and two free throws would be part of a 6-0 run to build the Lady Jacket lead back to 23-16 with 4:51 left in the third quarter. Trinity’s Sidney McLeod would grab an offensive rebound and score to trim the deficit to 23-18 at the 4:35 mark but Oak Forest point guard Lindsey Oliver would nail a 3-pointer on the next possession to increase the lead back to 26-18.
Trinity, playing without starter Madelyn Cross, hung around and pulled to within six points on a Mary Catherine lles 15 footer with 19 seconds left in the third quarter. Cassie Bennett would can two free throws to end the quarter with Oak Forest up 32-24.
In the final quarter Oak Forest seniors Cassie Bennett and Lauren Brumfield stepped up and dominated on the offensive end. Bennett and Brumfield combined to score 16 of the Lady Jackets 20 points as Oak Forest pulled away to win 52-30.

(Above) Trinity's Caroline Ketchings drives around Lauren Brumfield of Oak Forest
Bennet led Oak Forest with 18 points, Brumfield added 14, Ashlyn Neal had 11, Brittani Roy 6, and Lindsey Oliver 3.
Trinity was led by Caroline Ketchings with 7 points, Bethany Ogden added 6, Mary Catherine lles and Lesley Pomeroy 5 each, Sidney McLeod 4 and Danille Givens 3.
The girl’s championship game is scheduled for 2:15 today.

(Above) Brookhaven's Laura Beth Wright nails a jumper inside the paint
In the girl’s second semi-final match up the Prairie View Lady Spartans were looking to avenge a loss they suffered at Brookhaven two weeks ago and it looked as though they were well on their way as they built an early 9-4 lead over the Lady Cougars of Brookhaven. That would be Prairie View’s last lead of the game as Brookhaven finished out the first quarter on a 11-0 run and a 15-9 lead.
A Caroline Oliphant steal and basket started the second quarter and a Logan Tubbs offensive rebound and put back pulled PVA to 15-13. But once again Brookhaven would finish the quarter in strong fashion as they outscored PVA 9-4 culminating on an Anna Mangold basket with 1:22 left in the quarter to put Brookhaven up 24-17 at the halfway point.

(Above) PVA's Logan Tubbs gets a shot over Brookhaven's Anna Mangold
Prairie View came out strong in the third quarter with Logan Tubbs hitting an 8 foot jumper at the 6:33 mark and Tubbs hit another basket on the next possession to pull the Lady Spartans to within three points at 24-21. Caroline Oliphant’s jumper at 5:29 of the quarter pulled PVA to 24-23. Brookhaven’s Terah Winborne nailed a 3-pointer with just over five remaining in the third quarter but Logan Tubbs hit two buckets in less than 45 seconds to tie things up at 27-27. Anna Mangold hit a deuce to give Brookhaven a 29-27 lead heading into the final period.
Prairie View stayed within striking distance in the final quarter and with 53 seconds remaining Caroline Oliphant was fouled as she canned a 17 footer from the baseline to trim the deficit to 38-36 but couldn’t convert on the free throw. Another Anna Mangold basket and a Anna Lofton free throw sealed the 41-36 win in the final 29 seconds.

(Above) PVA's Caroline Oliphant being guarded closely by Brookhaven's Nicole Smith
Sophomore Anna Mangold led Brookhaven with 15 points and 14 rebounds, freshman Laura Beth Wright had 10 points and 10 rebounds, Nicole Smith added 7, Anna Lofton, Terah Winborne, and Marion Allen all had 3.
Prairie View was led by junior Caroline Oliphant with 21 points and 9 rebounds and Logan Tubbs with 14 points and 9 rebounds.
Today’s consolation game between Trinity and Prairie View will tip at 1:00pm.

Boys Down to Four

Wildcats and Cougars head to semi-finals
By Darron Thomas
The Chamberlain-Hunt Wildcats have flown under the radar to most folks this basketball season. While the word of a seven foot center tends to get around rather quickly what didn’t get around was how much support center David Hahn has around him on the court. The Simpson Cougars found that out last night as Chamberlain-Hunt advanced to the semi-finals with a sound 66-51 win.
Wildcat sophomore Chase Deculus had a game high 26 points against a Simpson defense focused on stopping David Hahn. That game plan seemed to work early as the Cougars ran out to an 11-6 lead on an Andy Maddox 3-pointer nearly halfway through the opening quarter. After a Chamberlain-Hunt timeout the Wildcats would get a basket from Ifanyi Uzegbunum off of an inbounds play to trim the Cougar lead to 11-8. Chamberlain-Hunt would cap off a 9-0 run on a Chase Deculus 15 foot jump shot with 17 seconds remaining and take a 15-11 lead into the second quarter.
Simpson opened the second quarter with a Cory Herrington 3-pointer to bring the Cougars to within one at 15-14. A David Hahn offensive rebound and put back on the next possession would put the Wildcats up 18-14. With 4:11 left until the half Justin Griffin’s basket pulled Simpson back to 18-16 but that would be as close as the Cougars would get the rest of the night. Chamberlain-Hunt would go on to outscore Simpson 14-5 the remaining four minutes to take a 32-21 lead into the locker room. Wildcat Chase Deculus totaled 10 points in the second quarter.
Simpson managed to cut the lead to six at 37-31 with 4:31 left in the third quarter on a Cory Herrington 3-pointer but Chamberlain-Hunt’s Keeniel Weaver would drain consecutive 3-pointers to push the Wildcat lead back to 43-31 with just over three minutes left in the third quarter. A Jordan Ainsworth 3-pointer with 4 seconds on the clock cut the lead to 47-37 at the end of three quarters.
Chamberlain-Hunt would outscore the Simpson Cougars 19-14 in the final quarter en route to the 66-51 win. (Above) Wildcat center David Hahn drew lots of attention last night.
Chase Deculus led Chamberlain-Hunt with 26 points, David Hahn added 13, Keeniel Weaver had 12, and Ifanyi Uzegbunum 8.
Simpson was led by Andy Maddox with 12 points, Jordan Ainsworth and Justin Griffin had 11 each.

The amount of attention Wildcat center David Hahn garners leaves open shots from the perimeter and if CHA is hitting those shots they can be a handful as Simpson found out last night.

(Above) Brookhaven's defense frustrated River Oaks most of the game.

In the final contest of the evening the Brookhaven Cougars found themselves in familiar territory once again. Only needing one win to advance to the south state semi-finals and a ticket to next week’s state tournament. Unfortunately for the River Oaks Mustangs they were the team in the path of the #1 ranked Cougars.
There was hope for River Oaks early on as they stayed close to Brookhaven only trailing 14-9 after one quarter of play. But with the 3-point shooting of senior Brookhaven guard Jeremy Foster the Cougars would quickly widen the margin to 29-14. Foster would drain three of his four 3-pointers in the first half and the Brookhaven defense would not allow River Oaks to get into any type of flow on offense. Brookhaven took a 38-18 lead into halftime.
The Brookhaven pressure defense continued to frustrate River Oaks in the third quarter and a Blaine Roberts 3-pointer midway through would put Brookhaven up 50-18. The quarter ended with River Oaks looking at a 54-24 deficit.
Brookhaven went on to eliminate the River Oaks Mustangs 67-44 and will take on the Trinity Saints today at 7:15pm.
Sophomore Sidney Chaffin led Brookhaven with 16 points and 10 rebounds, Jeremy Foster added 12 (4/5 3 point shooting), Josh Winborne 11, and Jamison Powell had 8 points and 7 assists.
River Oaks was led Cody Trichell with 16 points and Vincent Moore added 10.

(Above) Brookhaven's Blaine Roberts draws contact from Will White of River Oaks.
Today’s semi-finals will not only showcase the four best teams in South AA but, in my humble opinion, showcase the four best teams in AA all together. These four teams may be collectively better than the four than advanced to last year’s state final four in Grenada. If you’re a basketball junkie Gallman is the place to be today and tomorrow

Boys Round Two Recap

Bowling Green, Trinity qualify for State

By Darron Thomas

The Bowling Green Buccaneers advanced to the AA South State semi-finals last night with a 79-58 win over Prentiss Christian. With the win Bowling Green will meet the winner of today’s Simpson/Chamberlain-Hunt winner on Friday at 6:00pm.
Prentiss found itself down 12-2 on a Jaron Edwards 3-pointer halfway into the opening quarter last night. Prentiss senior Hunter McPhail answered with a 3-pointer of his own at the 3:05 mark to pull the Saints to within six points at 13-7. The lead grew to 19-9 on a Blake McGehee lay-up with 1:44 left in the first quarter. The quarter ended with Prentiss facing a 23-14 deficit. Bowling Green would extend the lead to 31-17 on a Shod Fortenberry basket two minutes into the second quarter.

(Above) Ethan Lee of Prentiss surveys the Bowling Green defense
Prentiss hung around and with just over four minutes remaining in the third quarter Hunter McPhail nailed two free throws to narrow the margin to 47-42. Bowling Green would answer with a 9-1 run that included two Jaron Edwards 3-pointers.
Bowling Green took a 58-45 lead into the fourth quarter and managed to hold Prentiss at bay on their way to the 79-58 win.
Jaron Edwards led Bowling Green with 32 points, Shod Fortenberry added 15, and Andrew Wood had 9.
Prentiss was led by Moochie Speights with 22 points and Hunter McPhail added 16 on the night.

(Above) Travis Thornton of OFA and Trinity's Andrew Johnson

The Trinity Saints earned a trip to the semi-finals with a hard fought 65-54 win over the Oak Forest Yellow Jackets last night. The first quarter saw five lead changes with Trinity holding a slim 13-11 lead after one quarter of play.
Trinity would go up 17-12 on a Brandon Daggs basket off an Oak Forest turnover just one minute into the second quarter. Oak Forest wouldn’t see a lead in the quarter as Trinity extended out to a 30-22 lead on a Giovonni Dent bucket with two minutes left in the half. A Baylor Blanchard offensive rebound and basket and two free throws one minute later pulled the Jackets to 30-26 with 45 seconds left in the second quarter. Andrew Johnson’s free throw would end the half with Trinity up 31-26.

In the third quarter a Kent King steal and lay-up with just under five minutes left in the quarter put Trinity up 39-28 and forced an Oak Forest timeout. The Jackets battled back to trim the deficit to 42-37 with 1:40 left in the third, then got a basket from Travis Thornton and a 3-point bucket from Drew Misita in the last 33 seconds to knot things up at 42-42 entering the fourth quarter.
A Drew Misita free throw to open the final quarter gave Oak Forest it’s first lead since the 2:10 mark of the opening quarter. The lead was short lived as RJ Fleming canned a 6-footer to put Trinity back on top at 44-43 with seven minutes remaining. After an Oak Forest miss at the free throw line Trinity would go on an 8-2 run to build the lead back to 52-45 and force another Jacket timeout. Oak Forest could get no closer than seven points the rest of the way as Trinity eliminated Oak Forest 65-54. (Above) Trinity's Brandon Daggs
Senior Andrew Johnson led Trinity with 26 points and junior Brandon Daggs added 16 on the night.
Drew Misita had a game high 28 points to lead Oak Forest and Baylor Blanchard added 16.
Next up for Trinity will be the winner of today’s Brookhaven/River Oaks contest.

Girls Round Two Recap

Trinity and Oak Forest reach semi-finals
By Darron Thomas
In girls action last night the Trinity Lady Saints advanced to the semi-finals of the AA South State Tournament with a convincing 74-41 win over the Columbia Lady Cougars. Trinity got out early on Columbia building a 15-4 lead with 1:40 left in the opening quarter. A Caroline Ketchings 12 footer with 51 seconds left in the quarter and a Lesley Pomeroy basket 26 seconds later pushed the Trinity lead to 19-4 after the first quarter.

Columbia’s Adrian Johnson would open the second quarter with a bucket trimming the deficit to 19-6, but at the 4:42 mark of the quarter a Madelyn Cross offensive rebound and basket would push Trinity’s lead to 26-8. An Olivia Ryals jumper brought Columbia to within thirteen at 32-19 with 54 seconds remaining in the half. Trinity would finish the half outscoring Columbia 6-2 to take a 38-21 lead into halftime.
A Caroline Ketchings basket plus one extended Trinity’s lead to 50-29 with just over three minutes left in the third quarter and a Sidney McLeod bucket to end the quarter gave the Lady Saints a 61-34 advantage after three quarters of play. (Below) Trinity's Bethany Ogden scores a basket

Trinity went on to finish the final quarter outscoring the Lady Cougars 13-7 en route to the 74-41 win.

Trinity senior Caroline Ketchings led the Lady Saints with a game high 26 points, sophomore Madelyn Cross added 17, and freshman Bethany Ogden had 12 points.
Junior Olivia Ryals led Columbia with 15 points and Lauren Williamson added 6 on the night.

Next up for Trinity is a 1:00pm Friday match up with Oak Forest.

In the other girls game last night Oak Forest punched their ticket to the semi-finals with a 58-33 win over Simpson. Oak Forest got through a sluggish first half to take a slim 23-19 lead into the locker room.

A Brittany Smith jumper plus one got the Lady Cougars to within five at 27-22 with just over five minutes left in the third quarter. Oak Forest would then outscore Simpson 18-3 to finish out the third quarter. An Ashlyn Neal bucket and two Lindsey Oliver 3-pointers helped spark the Oak Forest run.

The Lady Jackets 25 point victory earns them a date with Trinity on Friday.

Oak Forest was led by Lauren Brumfield with 17 points, Ashlyn Neal added 14, and Lindsey Oliver had 9.

Christa Smith led Simpson with 15 points, and Brittany Smith and Kasey Williams each had 5 on the night. (Below) Lauren Brumfield of Oak Forest with two of her 17 points

Boy's AA South State First Round

Simpson and River Oaks move on
By Darron Thomas
The Simpson Cougars overcame a 34-30 halftime deficit to take a 69-64 win over the Centreville Tigers last night to advance to the second round of the AA South State Tournament in Gallman, Mississippi. With the victory Simpson will face District 3AA #2 seed Chamberlain-Hunt on Thursday at 5:15pm.

(Above) Simpson's Justin Griffin with the stop

Simpson junior Andy Maddox sparked a 23 point third quarter scoring 11 points, including three 3-pointers, to propel the Cougars to a 53-51 lead entering into the final quarter. A Cliff Hurst 6 foot jumper would tie things up at 53-53 just 40 seconds into the final quarter. Andy Maddox put Simpson back on top at 55-53 with a steal and basket at the 6:20 mark of the period. Centreville grabbed a 58-55 lead on another Cliff Hurst jumper with just over four minutes left in the game. That would prove to be Centreville’s last lead as the Simpson Cougars outscored the Tigers 14-6 in the final half of the quarter. (Below) Simpson's Jordan Ainsworth launches a three

(Above) Junior guard Andy Maddox led Simpson with 27 points

The battle between Simpson and Centreville included five ties and nine lead changes.

(Above) Centreville's Kyle Brown surveys the Simpson defense

Senior Jordan Ainsworth went 10/10 from the free throw line in the last two minutes to secure the first round game for the Cougars. The senior finished the night 12/12 at the free throw line.
Simpson’s Andy Maddox finished with a game high 27 points and Jordan Ainsworth added 15. The Cougars netted seven 3-pointers on the night.

Centreville was led by Kyle Brown with 19 points and Colby Lockwood added 18 on the night.

In the other boy’s match up the River Oaks Mustangs raced out to a 19-5 lead behind Cody Trichell’s eight first quarter points en route to a 54-40 win over District 5AA #4 seed Central Private. (Below) Coley Rahn of River Oaks drives on Central Private's Matthew Wallace

The Mustang’s fourteen point lead melted to 26-20 late in the second quarter as Central Private went on a 12-1 run but a Will White 3-pointer at the buzzer pushed the River Oaks lead back to 29-20 at the halfway point. Central Private shaved three points off the deficit to end the third quarter down 41-34. A Britt Myer free throw would get the Rebels to within six at 41-35 at 7:41 in the fourth quarter but River Oaks would go on a 9-1 run over the next three and a half minutes to increase the cushion to 50-36. River Oaks would burn off two minutes while executing the spread offense before Cody Trichell and Vincent Moore put the game away at the free throw line in the final minute.
(Above) Will White #22 of River Oaks
The Mustangs received solid performances from Cody Trichell with 18 points and 9 rebounds, Will White with 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Vincent Moore added 10 points and 10 assists.

Central Private was led by Lance Wicker’s 14 points, Jacob Fryoux added 10, and Britt Myer had 9 points.

(Above) River Oaks sophomore Vincent Moore #15

River Oaks advances to face Brookhaven on Thursday at 7:45pm.

Girl's AA South State First Round Action

(Above) Sara Beth Fuller of Adams Christian drains two

Adams Christian, Copiah advance
By Darron Thomas
The Adams Christian Lady Rebels advanced to the second round of the AA South State playoffs with a 67-40 win over Amite School Center on Tuesday night in Gallman. ACCS got out to an 8-2 lead on an Ashley Morrison bucket at the 5:40 mark of the opening quarter but Amite would knot things up at 8-8 on basket from Amanda Picard with just under three minutes remaining. Amite would the lead on their next possession on an Ashley Havard offensive rebound and put back to give ASC a 10-8 lead with 2:41 left in the first quarter. Two Sara Beth Fuller free throws would put Adams back on top at 11-10 to end the quarter.

(Above) Ashley Morrison of ACCS working the block
The second quarter would remain tight as both teams traded baskets and neither could pull away from the other, but with just over two minutes left in the half Adams Christian would outscore ASC 6-2 to take a 29-21 lead into the locker room.
A Melanie Reed basket one minute into the third quarter would pull Amite to 29-23 but after an Adams Christian free throw, senior Sara Beth Fuller would score the next ten points to extend the lead to 40-23 with just over two minutes left in the third quarter.
Adams finished the final quarter with their biggest lead at 67-40 and will move on to play Brookhaven on Thursday at 4:00pm.
Sara Beth Fuller led Adams Christian on the night. The senior had a game high 16 points and Ashley Morrison, another senior, added 9.
Amite School Center was led by Melanie Reed’s 13 points and Amanda Picard added 7.

(Above) Copiah's Rachel Strait with a block against Bowling Green
In the other girls first round contest last night the Copiah Lady Colonels withstood a late Bowling Green rally to advance to the second round with a 47-42 win over the Lady Bucs.
Bowling Green’s Mackayla Dykes opened the game with a 3-pointer and after a Copiah free throw Madelon Cline hit a 3-pointer of her own to put the Lady Colonels up 4-3 halfway through the first quarter. Bowling would take the lead again at 8-7 on a Beth Reedy jumper with 1:38 left in the opening quarter. Copiah would score the last eight points of the period, six of which came from two Madelon Cline 3-pointers, giving the Lady Colonels a 15-8 advantage after one quarter of play. (Below) Mackayla Dykes gets around Copiah's Ashley Baham
A Mackayla Dykes 3-pointer just over one minute into the second quarter pulled Bowling Green back to within four at 15-11 only to see Copiah’s Cline score six straight to build the lead to 21-11 with under three minutes remaining in the half. Bowling Green then scored the last eight points of the half which included a Caroline Haik basket, a Whitney Crowe free throw, a Cadie Robertson 3-pointer and a Mackayla Dykes basket at the buzzer to pull Bowling Green to within two at 21-19 entering the halfway point of the game.
Mackayla Dykes opened the third quarter with a basket to tie things up at 21-21 but Copiah would run up eight straight points culminating on an Amanda Pyron deuce with 3:36 left in the quarter to give the Lady Colonels a 29-21 lead. Copiah would extend the lead to 35-23 to end the third quarter.
Copiah’s biggest lead of the night would come at the 7:00 mark of the final quarter when Madelon Cline nailed a 3-pointer to give CA a 38-23 cushion.
Bowling Green would outscore Copiah 19-9 the final six minutes of the game but fell short in their attempt at a last minute comeback. With the 47-42 win Copiah advances to play Prairie View on Thursday at 6:30pm.
Copiah was led by junior Madelon Cline with 20 points (five 3-pointers) and junior Rachel Strait added 11.
Bowling Green’s Mackayla Dykes had 23 points on the night and senior Cadie Robertson added 5.