AISA BOYS SEMIS: Last-second shot lifts Edgewood to finals: Springwood comeback dooms Valiant Cross
Edgewood Academy’s Simeon Parker goes up for a shot against Escambia Academy in the AISA Class A semis at Garrett Coliseum. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
The play wasn’t designed for Brock Whitt.
But it seemed appropriate the Edgewood senior would find the ball in his hands for the final shot.
Whitt drilled a 3-pointer with 7.2 seconds remaining, lifting the Wildcats to a 45-44 win over Escambia in the AISA Class A semifinals at Garrett Coliseum on Thursday night.
“He is secondary off that play,” Edgewood coach Scott Phillips said. “If we can’t get the layup, he’s stepping out after making the screen because he can shoot the 3. It wasn’t supposed to go to him, but it did. And who else do you want it in the hands of?”
Edgewood (22-7) will play Abbeville Christian for the A state title on Friday at 5:15 p.m. The Wildcats will be chasing their fifth state championship in the last 10 years.
The Wildcats won for the first in three postseason meetings with the Cougars, losing to Escambia in the 2022 Elite Eight and the 2021 Final Four.
The Wildcats held a slight lead throughout the tightly contested game but the Cougars, featuring star player Ronta Watson, were never far behind, finally taking the lead on a Braylon Snow basket on a steal and assist from Watson with 23 seconds remaining.
“That kid can play the game,” Phillips said of Watson. “The thing we tried to do is keep him in front of us, use our length. But they did a good job in the fourth quarter of getting us away from him, then dishing it back to him. You can’t stop a player like him. He is the absolute best player on this floor.”
Watson led the Cougars with 20 points, followed by Hayden Sheets with 12.
Whitt, Simeon Parker and Landon Smith all had 10 points each for the Wildcats. Ja’Qub Anthony added nine points and Thomas Justiss had eight.
Edgewood will now face unbeaten Abbeville Christian, which reached the finals for the second consecutive year after beating Trinity Christian 63-36 in the A semifinals.
“They’re tough,” Phillips said. “Abbeville is athletic, 10 to 12 deep, all of them can play. We have a plan for them, but we’re just happy to be there.”
Springwood’s Kori Key looks to drive on RJ Austin of Valiant Cross in the Class AA semifinals at Garrett Coliseum on Thursday. (Tim Gayle)
Springwood gets massive comeback to knock off Valiant Cross in Class AA semifinals
Valiant Cross closed out the first half of Thursday’s AISA Class AA semifinal game with Springwood School with a couple of 3-pointers from Adrian Brown, then scored the first five points of the second half to take a commanding 41-22 lead over the Wildcats.
Springwood School coach Lisa Sampson tried to keep her team focused even as the Warriors were hitting shots, playing pressure defense and scoring transition baskets.
“(Assistant) coach Calvin (Crabb) and I just kept preaching one possession at a time, get a stop, get a good offensive possession, just take it one at a time,” Sampson said. “And they did. I wasn’t even looking (at the scoreboard). I knew we were down double digits but you’ve just to keep fighting.”
The 19-point lead disappeared as Springwood went on a 24-4 run, building confidence with each stop, scoring with each possession and taking advantage of a shell-shocked Valiant Cross team for a stunning 54-49 victory in the semifinals at Garrett Coliseum on Thursday morning.
Springwood School advances to the Class AA finals against Chambers Academy on Friday at 1:45 p.m. Defending state champion Valiant Cross ends the season at 19-5.
“I’ve been a part of that as a player on the opposite side, where we were down a lot and came back,” Valiant Cross Dez DeRamus said. “It’s part of the game. The game is a part of swings and they had a couple of big swings there.”
While the Wildcats’ rally took all five players on both ends of the court, it was back-to-back 3-pointers by Clarence Moore and Wes Carden early in the fourth quarter that finally put Springwood in front 46-45. Even then, Valiant Cross fans were convinced the Warriors would flip back on the offensive switch, but it never happened. During the improbable rally, James Cosby had a pair of field goals for the only points by Valiant.
Even after Springwood took the lead, the Warriors would score just one field goal in the final eight minutes, that coming on a John Cosby layup following a turnover.
“They’ve got great players,” Sampson said. “We keyed in on 3 (John Townsley), 5 (John Cosby) and 23 (James Cosby). Anybody else that was on another player, they were trapping or trying to help the other guys. Then, when you’re up one (point) at the end, just taking care of the ball against a great defensive team like Valiant was a lot.”
Townsley was injured in the second quarter and spent virtually the entire third quarter on the bench. When he returned, he wasn’t the same player that started the game.
“He’s one of our better players,” DeRamus said. “It hurt a lot. But we can’t make excuses. We just couldn’t get it done today.”
Springwood’s leading scorer, Kori Key, was held in check by Valiant defense and scored just eight points, but Carden had 12 points, Tucker Sides had 11, Moore had 10 and Tristan Hill had nine.
“That was one for the record books,” Sampson said. “That was great. It just goes to show you the heart of our team. They never gave up. We gave them a plan at halftime and they executed it better than I could have ever imagined.”
Townsley led Valiant with 14 points, scoring 10 of those in the first quarter and managing just four free throws the remainder of the game. John Cosby also had 14, scoring just a pair of field goals in the second half. James Cosby added 11.
“It’s been a great season,” DeRamus said. “These boys fought hard the entire year. They didn’t lose many games, played hard each and every day, practiced hard each and every day. I just want to tip my hat to these young men for being as great as they have been for me this year.”
Chambers Academy 47, Restoration Academy 37
Christian Terry hit four 3-pointers in the second quarter and finished with 22 points to lead the Rebels past Restoration Academy in the AA semifinals on Thursday at Garrett Coliseum.
Chambers will play Springwood for the AA state championship on Friday at 1:45 p.m.
Hunter Andrews added eight for Chambers.
Ian Fuller led the Bulldogs with 14 points, followed by Cortez Ruffin and Andrew Wilson with nine points each.