Swainsboro has had it share of heartbreak at the state basketball tournament. Not this year.
The Tigers overcame a late four-point deficit to defeat defending champion Therrell and win the Class AA title 69-65 at the Macon Coliseum on Thursday.
The victory capped quite a comeback for the Swainsboro program, which didn’t even qualify for the state playoffs last season.
“Three years ago we came to Atlanta and got beat bad (in the final),” Swainsboro coach Brice Hobbs said. “Two years ago we went from No. 1 to No. 4 (in the region) and got beat in the first round. Last year we did not make the playoffs, so we have seen it all.”
Trailing 59-55, Swainsboro cut the lead in half on a basket by Immanuel Hackett and took the lead for good when mercurial guard Artis Kingsberry came up with a steal and a layup. Therrell could never catch up and Swainsboro had its first championship since 1996.
“That steal was the turning point,” Hobbs said. “He’s been doing that all year.”
Swainsboro (29-3) was led by Fredrick Seabrough with 18 points and eight rebounds, while twin brother Cedrick had nine points and nine rebounds. Hackett added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Therrell (26-7) got 23 points from RaSean Frederick, who fouled out with 1:44 left in the game and his team trailing by a point. Calvin Miller added 16 points.
“You’ve got to believe you can win,” Hobbs said. “That’s been our slogan all year. When you get down, you can never quit, and these kids never quit.”
The game was tight for the first 12 minutes and tied 23-23 when Frederick scored with 4:25 left in the half. But Swainsboro reeled off 12 straight points – 3-pointers from Tyler Kelly, Derrick Jones and Cedrick Seabrough and a three-point play from Dre Miles – to take a 35-23 lead. Therrell scored the final six points of the half, ending on a 3-pointer from Calvin Miller, to cut the lead to 35-29 at halftime.
Swainsboro hung on to the lead behind the shooting of Fredrick Seabrough, who had nine points in the third period, but Therrell’s Frederick had eight in the quarter and Justin Worrill gave Therrell its first lead with a 3-pointer at 45 seconds that made it 50-48. The score was tied 50-50 going into the fourth quarter.
Swainsboro (69): Immanuel Hackett 11, Derrick Jones 10, Fredrick Seabrough, Artis Kingsberry 10, Cedrick Seabrough 9, Tyler Kelly 6, Dre Miles 5.
Therrell (65): RaSean Frederick 23, Roman Son 8, Cameron Fortson 9, Calvin Miller 16, Caleb Smith 4, Justin Worrill 5.
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