Class 1A State Championships Review

From Score Atlanta reporter Jason Boral:

Sometimes it pays to be wrong. Up until the finals, I had professed the lack of close games throughout the 1A basketball tournament. However, it seemed once the calendar turned to March, the madness invariably ensued. In the boys final, the biggest challenge for Turner County was how they were going to stop Hancock Central’s Kammeon Holsey. They did a good job in the first half as they kept Holsey from establishing himself on the inside and only trailed 22-20 at the half. Turner then started the second half with a bang, running a set play to Demetreius Ewing in which he dunked the ball on an alley-oop from Marquis Jackson. When that happened, I really thought Turner had gotten over the hump and they would take the title. But give Hancock credit, as they were finally able to establish Holsey inside. Doing so helped build a four-point lead with 30 seconds to go, a lead they did their best to give away. After two Turner free throws cut the lead to two, Hancock through the ball away on a turnover leaving Turner’s Todd Lawson wide open for a 3-pointer to win the game, which hit the back iron and fell safely to the court. Hancock wins 49-45.

It was much of the same excitement in the girls final between Calvary Day and Terrell County. In pre-game, Terrell seemingly had a huge advantage as they outsized the girls from Calvary all along the interior, however, Calvary used their speed and agility to their advantage late to get open shots. Calvary’s Natalie Paris was the best example, as she hit three 3-pointers from NBA range. For Terrell, it was once again the Monshay Thomas Show as she scored 26 of her team’s 48 points. It was the defense that really did Terrell in, however. They switched from man to zone throughout the game but Calvary was still able to move the ball and find open spots, which usually were behind the arc. Calvary wins 57-48.

Jason Boral can be reached at jboral@scoreatl.com.