AA State All Tournament Teams

Boy's All Tournament Team
Davin Riebock - Canton
Patrick Clark - Lee
Jaron Edwards - Bowling Green
Shod Fortenberry - Bowling Green
David Hahn - Chamberlain-Hunt
Chase Deculus - Chamberlain-Hunt
Blaine Roberts - Brookhaven
Jake Reed - Brookhaven
Josh Winborne - Brookhaven
Jamison Powell - Brookhaven

Girl's All Tournament Team
Cassie Bennett - Oak Forest
Ashlyn Neal - Oak Forest
Nicole Smith - Brookhaven
Terah Winborne - Brookhaven
Callie Clanton - Marshall
Emily Burk - Marshall
Traci Rodgers - Marshall
Hannah Peoples - Leake
Jenny Wilbanks - Leake
Emily Kea - Leake

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.

MPSA AA State Tournament

AA State semi-finals set for Friday
By Darron Thomas
The Bowling Green Buccaneers advanced to the semi-finals of the AA State Tournament last night in Brookhaven, Mississippi for the second consecutive year with a hard fought 55-49 win over Marshall Academy.
Bowling Green would jump out to an early 8-0 lead behind the torrid shooting of senior guard Andrew Wood who nailed two 3-pointers and a 10 foot jumper from the baseline in the first minute and a half of the opening quarter. Marshall would notch their first basket at the 4:51 mark on a Caleb Martin 12 footer. Bowling Green would finish the first quarter with a Jaron Edwards floater in the paint and two Shod Fortenberry jumpers to push the Buc’s lead to 14-3 after one quarter of play.
Marshall got right back into the contest as they started the second quarter with a 6-2 run to trim the Patriot deficit to 16-9 with just under six minutes left in the second quarter. After a Jaron Edwards transition bucket, Marshall’s Jake Omedeo grabbed an offensive rebound and converted a bucket of his own to keep the Patriots close at 18-11 with 4:05 left in the half. Both squads would trade 3-point baskets with Andrew Wood nailing one from the corner and Jake Omedeo of Marshall sinking one with two minutes left and the score 21-14. Andrew Wood of Bowling Green drained his thirteenth point of the half on a 15 footer from the baseline with 4 seconds remaining in the opening half to give the Buccaneers a 23-14 lead. (Above) Marshall's Jordan Brock attempts a shot over Bowling Green's Buster Brown
Marshall stormed out in the opening minutes of the third quarter with a 9-0 run to tie things up at 23-23 with 5:35 left in the third quarter. Bowling Green went back up 25-23 on their next possession on a 17 foot Jaron Edwards jumper. At the 2:49 mark of the quarter Marshall would grab their first lead of the game with a John Tomlinson basket off a Bowling Green turnover to give the Patriots a 30-29 lead. In the last two minutes of the quarter there would be six lead changes with neither team able to build more than a one point cushion. Marshall finished the quarter on a Taylor Maurey basket to give the Patriots a 36-35 lead heading into the final quarter.
Marshall’s hopes of pulling an upset were dashed as Bowling Green opened the fourth quarter by going on a 10-0 run to put the Bucs up 45-36 with 5:40 left in the game. In that 10-0 run Bowling Green got critical points from the bench as Dylan Varnado and Buster Brown combined for eight of the ten. Marshall answered with five straight points to pull to within four at 45-41 at the halfway point of the final quarter but would get no closer as Bowling Green maintained a least a four point advantage throughout the final four minutes. The Buccaneers got baskets from Dylan Varnado and Andrew Wood in crunch time during those final minutes to preserve the first round win and a slot in Friday’s semi-finals.
Bowling Green was led by senior Andrew Wood with 17 points, junior Dylan Varnado added 12, junior Jaron Edwards had 11, Shod Fortenberry and Buster Brown 6 each, and Blake McGehee had 2.
Taylor Maurey led Marshall with 12 points, Caleb Byrd added 11, Chase Ferrell, Joey Omedeo, and John Tomlinson had 8 each, and Aaron McAlexander had 2.
Bowling Green (29-5) will battle Chamberlain-Hunt (19-7) Friday at 6:00pm. This will be a rematch of last Friday’s semi-final game at AA South State in Gallman, Mississippi in which Bowling Green stopped Chamberlain-Hunt 57-44. The winner will advance to Saturday’s AA State Championship game.


The Chamberlain-Hunt Cadets punched their first ever AA State semi-final ticket on Wednesday night with a nail-biting 51-49 win over the Canton Panthers. The Cadets will match up with Bowling Green on Friday at 6:00pm.
Chamberlain-Hunt’s 7 footer David Hahn got the Cadets on the board on their first possession as he muscled to the basket for an easy lay-in. Canton’s patient and deliberate offense in the first quarter slowed the game down to a snail’s crawl and was painful to watch from a fan’s perspective but it proved to be effective as the game wore on. The Panthers got a Davin Riebock 3-pointer with almost four minutes gone in the opening quarter to go up 3-2. David Hahn would put CHA back on top at 4-3 at the 4:30 mark and the big man would convert on a basket plus one with 1:49 left to give the Cadets a 7-3 lead. Davin Riebock’s steal and bucket with 43 seconds remaining would close out the first quarter with Canton trailing 7-5. (Above) Chamberlain-Hunt center David Hahn caused match up problems for Canton
The second quarter pace picked up just a bit as Canton scored the first four points to take their first lead at 9-7 with one minute gone in the quarter. David Hahn then began taking over as the Wildcat’s center netted ten of the team’s twelve second quarter points. Two of those points were highlighted by a smooth turnaround jump hook at the 5:17 mark of the quarter. Chamberlain-Hunt would take a 19-15 lead into halftime.
The second half would exhibit one of the better performances of the tournament as Canton senior Davin Riebock poured in 20 points to keep his Panthers close. After Riebock opened the second half with a basket to pull Canton to within one at 19-18, Chamberlain-Hunt put together a 10-1 run culminating on a David Hahn jumper from the elbow to go up 29-19 with just under two minutes left in the third quarter. Senior point guard Josh McNair of CHA would foul out with 1:08 left in the quarter and Canton would close out the remaining minute with a free throw and a Riebock 3-pointer from the corner to trail 31-25 entering the final quarter of play.
Chamberlain-Hunt got their biggest lead of the night at 40-30 on an Ifanyi Uzuegbunum basket plus one with 6:10 left in the game. Canton then scored nine straight points to pull to within one at 40-39 with 4:30 remaining. After an Uzuegbunum bucket put CHA up 42-39, Canton’s Riebock would nail another 3-pointer with four minutes left in the quarter to knot things up at 42-42. Four David Hahn free throws and a Chase Deculus deuce would put the Cadets back up 48-42 with three minutes left. With the score 50-44 Davin Riebock drained another 3-pointer from the wing to pull the Panthers to within three with two minutes left in the game. After two missed free throws from Chamberlain-Hunt the margin would be trimmed to 50-49 on an Eddie Drane floater in the paint just over the fingertips of center David Hahn with 1:08 left. Both squads would trade turnovers and with CHA in possession Canton fouled Chase Deculus with 3 seconds remaining. Deculus converted on one of two free throws to give the Cadets a 51-49 lead with 3 seconds left. Canton then called a timeout to set up a last second attempt to win. Those last 3 seconds had to be the longest 3 seconds for Cadets head coach David Granville as he watched a perfectly designed inbounds play that got the ball into Riebock’s hands on Canton’s end of the court. The shot from six feet beyond the three point line fell just short as Chamberlain-Hunt escaped with a narrow 51-49 win to advance. (Above) Chamberlain-Hunt's Chase Deculus gets rejected by Canton's Eddie Drane
David Hahn led Chamberlain-Hunt with 23 points, Chase Deculus added 15 (13 in the 2nd half), Ifanyi Uzuegbunum had 9, Josh McNair and Jalen Ellington with 2 each.
Canton was led by Davin Riebock with 29 points (six 3-pointers), Michael Jerome added 9, Eddie Drane had 6, Chaz Dickens 3, and John Willis 2.

In girls action from yesterday the Brookhaven Lady Cougars reached familiar territory once again as they advanced to the final four with a tough 48-40 win over the Indianola Lady Colonels. Coach Barry Gray’s squad broke a 6-6 tie at the two minute mark of the opening quarter on a Terah Winborne 3-pointer followed by a Nicole Smith basket to finish out the first quarter with a 11-6 advantage. (Above) Brookhaven's Anna Mangold
Indianola’s Jordan Dodson opened the second quarter by hitting three straight baskets to give the Lady Colonels a 12-11 lead with 5:25 left in the quarter. In a quarter that produced seven lead changes and one tie Brookhaven would go up 21-17 on a Laura Beth Wright basket with just under two minutes left in the half. A Kelsey Kovarcik 3-pointer with 8 seconds to go pull Indianola to within two points at 22-20, but Brookhaven’s Anna Lofton sank two free throws with 1 second left to push the Lady Cougar lead to 24-20 at halftime.
Brookhaven would grab their biggest at 26-20 on an Anna Mangold bucket with 6:50 left in the third quarter. The Lady Cougars would head into the final quarter with a slim 34-29 lead. A 9-0 run to start the final quarter quickly extended the Brookhaven lead to 43-29 and at the 2:02 mark of the quarter Indianola’s Swayze Carithers would get the Lady Colonels back to within eight points at 45-37. Brookhaven senior Nicole Smith would convert on critical free throws down the stretch as the Lady Cougars advanced with a 48-40 win. Nicole Smith led Brookhaven with 14 points, Terah Winborne added 11, Anna Lofton and Anna Mangold had 8 each, Laura Beth Wright had 6 points along with 13 rebounds, and Marion Allen had 1.
Indianola was led by Jordan Dodson with 12 points, Courtney Wilson had 9, Kelsey Kovarcik 6, Swayze Carithers 4, Lauren Leard 3, and Alex Domino, Carson Vickers, and Beth Jolly had 2 each.

Brookhaven improved to 34-5 and will play #1 ranked Leake on Friday at 2:15pm.
Indianola finishes out the season at 32-8.

In the first contest of the day the Prairie View Lady Spartan’s quest for a state championship ended as the Marshall Lady Patriots came from behind to earn a 37-34 win and a slot in the semi-finals.
Prairie View got out to their trademark fast start and took a 10-5 led into the second quarter. A Caroline Oliphant 3-pointer with just over one minute remaining in the half extended the Lady Spartan’s lead to 20-10, but Marshall would close the half with a 3-pointer of their own to pull back to within seven at 20-13 heading into the second half. (Above) Prairie View's Caroline Oliphant puts up a shot in the final seconds
Marshall slowly inched their way back into the game in the third quarter and at the 5:04 mark a Traci Rodgers bucket trimmed the deficit to 28-24. After a Logan Tubbs offensive rebound and put back put Prairie View up 31-24, Marshall would score the next ten points and take a 34-31 lead with just over one minute left in the game. Prairie View pulled to within one point at 34-33 on a Jerri Ann Lord basket with 34 seconds remaining and Marshall’s Traci Rodgers was fouled and converted on one of two free throws to give the Lady Patriots a two point lead at 35-33. Prairie View’s Caroline Oliphant was fouled while attempting to tie things up but missed the second of two free throws with 9 seconds left in the game. Two Emily Burk free throws sealed up the Lady Patriots 37-34 win and a slot in Friday’s semi-final action. Senior Traci Rodgers had a game high 21 points to lead Marshall, Callie Clanton and Emily Burk had 5 each, and Kelsey Shaw added 3.
For Prairie View, Caroline Oliphant had 14 points, Lena Kate Thompson and Logan Tubbs had 7 each, Jerri Ann Lord, Kalynn Osbon, and Catherine Coats had 2 each.
Marshall improved to 31-8 and will play Oak Forest on Friday at 1:00pm.
Prairie View ended their season with a 33-6 record.

AA State Tournament

AA State Playoffs get underway in Brookhaven

By Darron Thomas
The MPSA AA State playoffs got underway yesterday in Brookhaven, Mississippi with four games on the schedule. At the end of the day four teams advanced to the semi-finals on Friday and four teams went home for the season. Big crowds gathered to watch the first day of basketball with three of the four match ups going as many had expected, but one team got bit by the upset bug.
The Trinity Saints entered yesterday’s first round match up with Lee Academy as the #2 seed from the south after falling to Bowling Green in the AA South State championship game this past Saturday night. When it was all over the Lee Academy Colts advanced to the next round with a 47-39 upset of the Saints. Putting a healthy five on the court for coach David King was a challenge last night as Trinity had been hit by the virus bug. Senior Jackson Bryant didn’t make the trip due to illness and several Trinity players put forth valiant efforts while being sick.

Lee got out to a solid start in the first quarter with the outside shooting of senior guard Patrick Clark and the inside game of Douglas Smith. The Colts got out to an early 10-4 lead but Trinity closed out the opening quarter on a Brandon Daggs 3-pointer to trim the deficit to 12-10. Trinity would tie the game at 12-12 on a Brandon Daggs steal and basket at the 6:08 mark of the second quarter and a Kent King 3-pointer less than a minute later gave the Saints their first lead of the game at 15-12. A no look pass from King to Giovonni Dent for a basket pushed the Trinity lead to 17-12 on the next possession. The Colts got a 12 foot jumper from Chase Crumpton and a bucket from center Anthony Steen to pull back to within one at 17-16 with just over three minutes left in the half. A Brandon Daggs deuce at the 1:17 mark of the quarter would close out the first half scoring with Trinity up 19-16.

(Above) Trinity's Brandon Daggs gets a shot over Patrick Clark of Lee
Lee opened up the third quarter on a 9-2 run to retake the lead 25-21 with just over one minute remaining in the third. Lee would covert on three of four free throws to extend the lead to 28-21 with just over 10 seconds left in the third quarter but a Giovonni Dent 3-pointer at the buzzer would keep the Saints close at 28-24 heading into the final quarter.

Giovonni Dent’s assist to Andrew Johnson started the fourth quarter and pulled the Saints to within two at 28-26, but as the final quarter wore on the Saints were unable to overtake the Colts. Trinity pulled to within two once more at 34-32 on a Brandon Daggs 8 footer with just under four minutes left. But in a game that was reminiscent of Saturday night’s game against Bowling Green the Saints were unable to pull ahead in the second half. Lee converted on 9/14 free throws in the final quarter to secure a 47-39 win and advance to the semi-finals on Friday to meet the Brookhaven Cougars.
(Above) Trinity's Andrew Johnson rejects the shot of Lee's Douglas Smith
The Lee Colts were led by Patrick Clark with 10 points, Douglas Smith added 9, Chase Crumpton had 8, Anthony Steen and Ben True had 7 each, and Taylor Tidwell 6.

Brandon Daggs led Trinity with 20 points, Giovonni Dent added 10, Andrew Johnson 4, Kent King 3, and Bryant Pearson 2.
(Above) Lee Academy student section was loud and proud!
The Lee Colts have a solid club with decent size and quality guard play. I don’t know if I’ve seen a center with the girth as Anthony Steen…this young man is big. Great job by Lee head coach Robert Daniels.

(Above) Brookhaven's Jeremy Foster gets off a 3-pointer over Leake's Austin Byrd
In the final contest of the evening the Brookhaven Cougars made a definitive statement to the field of teams looking to unseat them as the defending state champions with a sound 73-44 win over the Leake Rebels.
Leake would jump out to a 5-0 lead on a Grant Wilson 3-pointer and a Brian Saxon basket with 5:36 left in the opening quarter. Josh Winborne would get the Cougars on the board with a 10 foot baseline jumper at the 4:54 mark and the senior got the Cougars to within one at 5-4 on a driving basket on the next possession to force a Leake timeout. Brookhaven took their first lead at 7-5 on a Jake Reed lay-in plus one with 3:32 left in the quarter. Winborne bucketed his ninth point of the opening quarter on a 3-pointer at the horn to give Brookhaven a 19-10 lead after one period.

The tone was set by Brookhaven as the Cougar defense forced nothing but long range jumpers from the Leake Rebels. As points were at a premium for Leake they came in bunches from the defending state champs as the lead quickly swelled to 25-10 on a Jake Reed end to end drive culminating with a left handed shot off the glass with just over three minutes gone in the second quarter. Senior Austin Byrd would keep Leake to within eleven points at 32-21 on a 3-pointer just before the half ended.
(Above) Brookhaven student section leaving no doubt who was the loudest!
Brookhaven opened the second half on a 6-0 run to grab their biggest lead of the game at 38-21. Leake managed to cut the lead to 43-31 on a Brian Saxon 3-pointer with two minutes left in the third quarter but Brookhaven would get a Jamison Powell free throw and a Josh Winborne feed from Jeremy Foster for a basket to end the quarter up 46-31.
Leake would get no closer than thirteen points in the final quarter as Brookhaven earned a 73-44 first round win over the Leake Rebels to advance to the semi-finals on Friday. Brookhaven will match up with the Lee Colts at 7:15pm.

Junior Jake Reed led Brookhaven with 23 points and 14 rebounds, senior Josh Winborne added 15 points, junior Jamison Powell had 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Blaine Roberts had 9 points and 6 assists.

Leake was led by seniors Brian Saxon with 15, Austin Byrd with 11, and Crosby McDonald 8.

All the talk about Brookhaven not playing well and whether they would advance was quickly put to rest. They seemed to be hitting on all cylinders last night with Jake Reed in particular looking sharp on both ends of the court. Leake had problems getting into the paint all night on offense and to those of us that have watched Brookhaven basketball over the years it’s not likely anyone will beat the Cougars with only a perimeter game. Lee should match up with Brookhaven a little better than Leake was able to do but the Colt’s big men had better sleep well Thursday night, the pace is about to quicken!


The Oak Forest Lady Jackets opened up the AA State Tournament yesterday with a dominating 66-22 win over the Manchester Lady Mavs. Oak Forest, fresh off their AA South State Championship last Saturday, wasted little time in getting out to a 14-2 lead on a Brittani Roy 3-pointer with two minutes left in the first quarter. Senior point guard Lindsey Oliver’s basket with 4 seconds left closed out the opening quarter with the Lady Jackets sporting a 19-4 lead.

(Above) Ashlyn Neal of Oak Forest with a six foot jumper against Manchester
Oak Forest pushed out to a 39-12 halftime lead over Manchester and opened the third quarter on a Lauren Brumfield 3-pointer to increase the lead to 42-12. The Lady Jackets would begin mass substitutions with a 57-18 lead at the 3:00 mark of the third quarter. Oak Forest advances to semi-finals for the second consecutive year with a 66-22 win over Manchester and will meet the winner of today’s Marshall/Prairie View game. (Above) Cassie Bennett of Oak Forest defending the post against Manchester's Anne Helton
Oak Forest had ten players make it into the scoring column last night. Ashlyn Neal had a game high 16 points, Cassie Bennett added 12, Lindsey Oliver 9, Lauren Brumfield 8, Brittani Roy 6, Marissa Cannon and Chloe Woods 4 each, Jessica McClendon 3, and Meaghan Durand and Emma Brabham 2 each.

Randi Fagan led the Manchester Lady Mavs with 6 points, Sarah Bailey Roberts and Anne Franklin Helton added 4 each, and Lelah Bridgforth and Morgan Ledlow with 2 each.

The Manchester Lady Mavs are coached by Keith Martin.


In the other girls contest the Trinity Lady Saints gave a valiant effort against the Leake Lady Rebels. Trinity and the #1 ranked girls team in AA basketball were all knotted up at 16-16 after the first quarter. The Lady Saints defense kept Leake from racing out to the fast start that most people see from the basketball powerhouse from Madden, Mississippi. With the Lady Rebels up 14-8 Caroline Ketchings would nail a 3-pointer with 1:22 left in the opening quarter to pull Trinity to within three at 14-11. A Trinity free throw and a Bethany Ogden bucket with 42 seconds left tied things up at 14-14, but Leake’s Hannah Peoples sank two free throws to give the Lady Rebels a two point cushion as the quarter was coming to a close. Trinity’s Caroline Ketchings hit an 8 footer off the glass with 10 seconds left to tie things up at 16-16 to end the opening quarter.
(Above) Trinity's Lesley Pomeroy looks to inbound against Leake's Jenny Wilbanks
Leake took control in the opening minutes of the second quarter by outscoring Trinity 7-2 to take a 25-18 lead at the 4:38 mark of the period. Trinity’s Madelyn Cross, who sat out the past two games at south state due to illness, hit a basket and converted a free throw with just over two minutes left in the half to pull the Lady Saints to within four at 25-21. Another Madelyn Cross basket with 56 seconds left in the half made it a 26-25 contest, but Hannah Peoples (remember that name, 8th grader) sank a lay-in to close out the half with the Lady Rebels up 28-25.
(Above) Trinity's Caroline Ketchings drives the baseline against Leake
Leake would stretch the lead to 41-33 on a Jenny Wilbanks 3-pointer with 1:46 left in the third quarter, but the Lady Saints kept within striking distance as a Caroline Ketchings bucket trimmed the lead to 45-37 to end the quarter. Another Ketchings basket, this time a 3-pointer with 6:03 left in the fourth quarter, cut the Leake lead to 48-44. It was at this point that the Leake offense took charge with sophomore center Jenny Wilbanks nailing a 3-pointer and converting on three baskets in the paint from the midway point of the quarter untill the final score of 67-50. Leake put together a 41-25 second half to advance to the semi-finals on Friday against today’s Brookhaven/Indianola winner.

Leake was led by Jenny Wilbanks with 25 points, Emily Kea added 19, Hannah Peoples had 16, Char’Lesa Tadlock 5, Jessie Powers and Kelsey Harvey had 2 each.

Trinity was led by Caroline Ketchings with 22 points, Bethany Ogden added 13, Madelyn Cross 5, and Sidney McLeod 2.

Over the past two weeks it’s been great meeting so many new people and I really appreciate all the kind words and encouragement I’ve received. The first night of action was great as was the atmosphere. "Shout Out" to Lee’s student section for really “bringin” it last night, and as always, Brookhaven’s bunch was full of energy.

see ya…………

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