BIRMINGHAM, Ala. â The road to winning a blue map continued for several local basketball teams on Monday in Birmingham with AHSAA State semifinal action.
Covenant Christian earns Shot at Third Straight Class 1A Title
Covenant Christian continues its drive for a third straight state boys' basketball championship. The Eagles defeated Calhoun 57-54 in Monday's Class 1A boys' state semifinal at the BJCC's Legacy Arena, thanks in big part to 23 points from Jalen Chandler and 18 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocked shots from Trey Kellogg. "We certainly don't take it for granted to be back," Covenant coach Bret Waldrep said. "Experience, I think that's what pulled us through."
Covenant Christian advances to Thursday's Class 1A championship game, set to tip off at 5:45 p.m., at Legacy Arena. Covenant (26-8) built an eight-point halftime lead and kept the lead near double digits throughout most of the second half. Calhoun (21-7) cut the lead to one several times, including 52-51 and 55-54, but could never take the lead.
Calhoun point guard Tyler Robertson fouled out with 1:18 to go on a drive to the basket â as Kellogg took the charge â while trailing by one. Calhoun had the ball with 6.2 seconds remaining and designed a final play, but 3-point specialist Kentavius Loftin's off-balanced shot was off just the rim before the buzzer. "The plan was to get the ball to our best 3-pointer shooter, Kentavius Loftin, who's shooting 51 percent from three," Davison said. "But they were all over him." Covenant now turns its attention to Thursday's title game. "We're just enjoying the moment and taking it one step a time," Kellogg said.
Georgiana holds off Skyline; advances to Class 1A Title Game
Georgiana High School held Skyline scoreless for more than six minutes in the fourth quarter, allowing the Panthers to protect a slim lead and earn a 56-52 victory in Monday's 104th AHSAA State Basketball Championships Class 1A boys' state semifinal. What crafty adjustment did Coach Kirk8Norris make to create such suffocating defensive pressure? Nothing. "We just tried to defend the best we could and not give 'em any second shots," Norris said. "We did enough to win it."
Georgiana (27-3) advances to Thursday's Class 1A championship game against two-time defending champ Covenant Christian, which defeated Calhoun in Monday's other state semifinal. Georgiana is in the title game for the first time since 2018 and is trying to win the school's first AHSAA boys state title. Skyline's Bryant Kennamer tied the game 47-all with a layup with 7:37 to go, but the Vikings (26-5) missed its next eight shots and didn't score again until Scott York's 3-pointer with 35 seconds remaining. Georgiana made 6-of-7 free throws in the final 41 seconds to hold on for victory.
"I knew it was going to be a fight," Norris said. "Skyline is a really good team. They do their stuff and do it well. We were able to make enough free throws to seal it at the end." Skyline was trying to win its first state title and advanced to the state tournament for the first time since the 1990s. "It's not how wanted it to end, but it's where we wanted it to end," Skyline coach Craig McGill said. Nasir Cheatham and Kaveon Miles led Georgiana with 15 points apiece, and Jaden Stallworth added 13 points and 10 rebounds. Miles had eight rebounds and three assists.
Zeier Golden led Skyline with 16 points and seven rebounds, and York added 14 points. Kennamer had nine points and seven assists. "It was a great season. We got to where we wanted to go," said York, referring to the state tournament. "We just couldn't execute."
Mars Hill Bible clinches berth in Class 2A Girls' State Finals
Defending Class 2A girls' state basketball champion Mars Hill Bible clawed its way back into the state finals Monday afternoon with a hard-fought 60-50 victory over Cold Springs as the first day of the 104th AHSAA State Basketball Championships moved into Class 2A action.
The Panthers (23-5) of Coach Flora Sweatt led 30-28 at the half and led by 10 with 17 seconds left in the third period when Cold Springs struck quickly to cut the lead to five. Mars Hill's Belle Hill, who had 20 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocked shots in the win, made perhaps her only real mistake of the game when she responded to an official's call by bouncing the ball on the floor. A technical foul resulted and Cold Springs made two free throws and sank a trey at the buzzer to send the Eagles of Coach Tammy West into the quarter break trailing 34-29 and riding a quick burst of momentum.
Mars Hill sank a 3-pointer early in the fourth period, however, and regained that momentum and outscored Cold Springs 16-11 in the final quarter to seal the win.
Madie Sain added 18 points with three treys for Mars Hill. Kadence Rolston had eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds, and Emma Claire Sak also had eight points. Cold Springs (27-5) had a balanced scoring effort with Ella Bruer leading with 14 points. Ciara Calvert, Paizley Whitlow and Malaya Taylor added 10 points each. Calvert also had seven rebounds, and Maci Brown, who scored six points, had five assists and three blocked shots.
Ider and Luverne were scheduled to play in the other 2A semifinal Monday night. Mars Hill Bible's boys were scheduled to face Locust Fork, and Highland Home was set to meet LaFayette in the boys' 2A semifinals.
Ider Rolls to Class 2A Girls' Finals with 69-32 Victory over Luverne
Ten players cracked the scoring column Monday night at the BJCC Legacy Arena as Ider High School downed Luverne 69-32 to claim a berth in the AHSAA Class 2A girls' state basketball finals. Ider, coached by Jamie Pruett, will face defending state champion Mars Hill Bible in the championship game Friday morning at 9 a.m. The Lady Hornets (22-11) won the school's only girls' state basketball championship 39 years ago in 1985 beating McIntosh 66-51 for the Class 3A state crown.
Ider took control early in its semifinal battle with Luverne (26-6) Monday night thanks to some red-hot shooting from the 3-point arc. The Hornets sank 9-of-19 by halftime and finished the night 16-of-38. Aubree Chapman was one of three players to sink three treys. She finished with a team-high 12 points. Julie Mavity and K.K. Wilborn also had three treys and had nine points each. MaKinley Traylor added 10 points, Addisyn Heard had 10 and Kenzie Smith had nine. Center Nikayla Melton totaled 12 points and 10 rebounds to pace Luverne, coached by Richard Dorsey. The Tigers, participating in their first Final Four in girls' school history, also got six points from Kalaiya Dixon.
Mars Hill Bible boys join Girls in Class 2A State Finals
Mars Hill Bible's boys' basketball team outscored Locust Fork 22-12 in the fourth period Monday afternoon on the way to a 69-47 victory over the Hornets in the AHSAA Class 2A boys' state basketball championships semifinals at the BJCC Legacy Arena.
The victory sends the Panthers (26-2) of Coach Jeremy Pounders into the Class 2A state finals Friday at 10:45 a.m. Mars Hill Bible 's defending girls' state champions won their semifinal over Cold Springs 60-50 to also clinch a berth in the Class 2A girls' finals Friday morning at 9 a.m.
Mars Hill's boys placed four players in double figures with Eli Pounders leading the way with 19 points and eight rebounds. He also had three assists, four steals and a blocked shot. Cannon Pigg added 15 points and nine rebounds, Carson Thrasher chipped in 13 points, and Sam Sweatt had 11 points and two steals.
The Panthers' defense held down Locust Fork's strong shooters to just 28.6% from the field â and 4-of-19 from the 3-point arc. Levi White led the Hornets (22-7) with 16 points and eight rebounds. Levi's brother Titus White scored 10 points, and Jalon Boatright had eight points, a game-high 10 rebounds and two steals.
Locust Fork, coached by Brad Deaver, had 37 rebounds and eight steals while Mars Hill also had 37 rebounds and nine steals.