VARSITY
BOYS ST. JAMES (18-6) 79, Brewbaker Tech 65
Score by quarters:
B T
15 10
18 22 65
STJ 16
25 15
23 79
STJ Scorers:
Ward 23, Mills 18, Roberts 16, Nelson 10, Kirkland 7, Welch 3, Gibson 2
B T Scorers: Hamilton
32, White 14, Jiles 4, Jo. Davis 3, Shuford 3, C. Baker 2, Edwards 2,
Lockett 2, McBroom 2, Forte 1
STJ 3 Pointers: Mills (3),
Ward (1)
FT (team): 27 of 40
(67.5%)
St. James completed a season sweep of the Brewbaker Tech Rams (who
nevertheless wrapped up a fine inaugural campaign) with
a 79-65 win in the semifinals of the 4A Area 5 State Basketball
Tournament. The first quarter was a seesaw affair, but perhaps
the telling point in the game was the very end of the first quarter and
the first minute of the second quarter. Matt Ward scored his
first three points of the game on an old-fashioned three point effort
with just seconds remaining in the first quarter, giving the
Trojans the lead for good at 16-15. Thanks to numerous first
quarter fouls, St. James was shooting bonus freethrows early. On
the
Trojans' first possession of the second quarter, Ward was fouled and a
technical foul immediately followed. Ward made both of his
1 and 1 freethrows, both technical freethrows, and laid in a basket on
the ensuing technical-generated possession for a 6-point trip
and a 22-15 Trojan lead. Matt stayed hot, scoring all but 2 of
the next 10 Trojan points, and those on a basket where he was
credited with an assist. Those 18 points in a period of less than
6 minutes, and several subsequent scores, boosted the lead to 39-22
late in the half before the Rams began a mini-run. The rest of
the game was basically evenly matched. St. James' biggest lead of
19
occurred early in the 3rd quarter after an Adam Mills three, the score
being 48-27. The Rams battled but could never cut the lead
back to single digits, with the closest margin thereafter at 65-54 with
4½ minutes remaining. Most of the rest of the game was
spent
at the foul line in a freethrow fest where the two teams combined for
55 fouls. Joseph Hamilton was the high scorer for the Rams,
dropping in 32 points, 16 in each half. St. James moves on to the
tournament finals to face # 2 seed Beauregard, who defeated
Handley in an earlier game 78-72.