North Oconee scored a 65-60 victory over Holy Innocents’ in the program’s first-ever trip to the state finals and after achieving a season of historic firsts and the Titans put their talent on full-display with a skillful triumph over five-star junior Caleb Wilson and the Golden Bears. The Titans’ confidence was evident from the opening tipoff as the team continued to answer any momentum gained by Holy Innocents’. After trailing 17-13 at the end of the first quarter, North Oconee found its footing. The Titans went an even 12-12 with Holy Innocents’ and were able to come out of the half in striking distance with a 29-25 deficit.
The Titans ended their dramatic last-second win over Baldwin in the semifinals on a 6-0 run and once again got better as the game went on. In the third quarter, Carter Byrd knocked down a three-pointer that tied the game up 33-33 and this sparked the most pivotal stretch of the Titans’ victory. Freshman Justin Wise netted another three-pointer on North Oconee’s next possession to put the Titans up 36-33 and sent the crowd into a frenzy with his second and third-straight deep ball. Teammate Evan Montgomery had a highlight-reel tip-in seconds later and that barrage pushed the lead to 44-33 in less than two minutes of play. Wise’s offense was matched with his impact on the defensive side of the ball as the freshman was tasked with guarding Wilson. The five-star was able to will his team back into the game with seven made free throws in the final 1:33 of the third quarter and that cut it to a 45-40 deficit.
Wise—who earned the Uber Teen Player of the Game—came out and buried his fourth three-pointer of the game to open the fourth quarter and put his team up 48-40. North Oconee preserved its multi-possession lead until back-to-back baskets by Holy Innocents’ Devin Hutcherson cut the deficit to 51-48 with 4:22 left. North Oconee’s Khamari Brooks was the hero that tipped in the game-winner against Baldwin and he had to sub out of the game with 4:08 left after there was blood exposed on his jersey. Out of the break, Wise hauled in an offensive rebound off of a missed three-point attempt and quickly scored to push the lead back to 53-48.
Hutcherson brought the game within a single possession again (60-57) with 41 second left and Holy Innocents’ burned their last timeout of the game. The Golden Bears’ gained possession after a missed lay-up attempt by Byrd and there was confusion on their behalf. Wilson was fed the ball for the potential game-tying attempt, but was met by two Titans defenders and called a timeout after the team had already used them. This resulted in a technical foul and Justin Payne went one-of-two to push the lead to 61-57 with :19 left. Payne was fouled after Holy Innocents’ came up empty on its next possession and Brooks fittingly iced the game at the foul line with two made free-throws for the final tally.
Wilson (26), Hutcherson (23) and Hopkins (9) combined for 58 of Holy Innocents’ 60 points. Wilson also hauled in a game-high 18 rebounds and Hutcherson added 13 rebounds. Byrd Carter led North Oconee with 20 points and was 4-of-8 from three-point range. Wise finished with 19 points and connected on five three-pointers. Brooks (14), Montgomery (7) and Payne (5) also provided the Titans with contributions and North Oconee had 15 assists, to Holy Innocents’ eight in the victory.
Girls: Baldwin 47, Hardaway 39
Baldwin’s mission to win its first state title since the 1988 season was on the brink before the Bravettes overcame a seemingly insurmountable 27-11 third-quarter deficit and rallied for a 47-39 win over Hardaway. Janaye Walker gave Baldwin a quick 2-0 lead and the Braves responded to a 5-0 run by Hardaway regain a 6-5 edge midway through the opening quarter. That was the last time Baldwin would lead until the 1:14 mark in the fourth quarter when Kassidy Neal put her team up 41-39 and ignited the Baldwin bench and stands that had just witnessed one of the most dramatic comebacks in state championship history.
Hardaway’s Shelton finished with five of her 12 points in the first quarter and gave the Hawks an 8-6 lead. The second quarter saw the Hawks pad the lead to 15-9—holding Baldwin to just three points in the period. Baldwin was limited to single digits in the first half and Walker picked up her third foul before the break.
The Hawks opened the third quarter on a 10-2 run that was capped with back-to-back three-pointers to give them their largest lead of the game (27-11). Walker helped fuel a game-turning 14-2 run by Baldwin to cut the lead to 29-25 by the end of the quarter and provided seven of the 14 points.
Walker opened the fourth quarter with a layup to make it a one-possession game, but Burrell and Johnson pushed the lead back to 32-27 with a trio of made free-throws. Baldwin’s Madison Ruff connected on a pull-up jumper with 5:55 left to play. Walker picked up her fourth foul on the ensuing possession and Shelton converted both free-throws after drawing the foul to put Hardaway up 34-29. Baldwin’s Jamya Easley scored her only basket of the night off a saved ball under the basket, but Hardaway went the full length of the court off the inbounds as took a 36-31 lead with 4:44 left. Baldwin head coach Kizzy Walker called a timeout after the defensive lasp and her team would close out the victory with a 16-3 run the rest of the way. Morgan Ruff self-assisted after throwing the ball off the back of a Hardaway defender and quickly converting it into two points and Madison Ruff converted a lay-up while being fouled to tie it up 36-36. Baldwin had an opportunity to gain the lead, but Morgan was unsuccessful on both foul attempts and then Hardaway’s Johnson put the Hawks up 39-36 with a deep three-pointer with 2:48 left.
Madison Ruff chipped into the lead by going 1-of-2 at the foul line and then Walker evened the game at 39-39 with 1:58 on a layup. Walker fouled out of the game on the next possession, but the Braves got the stop and an Easley rebound set up Kassidy Neal’s layup at the other end of the floor to give Baldwin its first lead (41-39) since the opening quarter. Madison Ruff and Neal iced the game with the final six points coming at the foul line. Madison finished with a game-high 17 points and eight rebounds and Walker finished with 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Baldwin was able to complete the comeback—despite going 0-5 from three-point range and converted 15-of-30 free-throw attempts. Hardaway was led by Burrell (13), Shelton (12) and Johnson (9), who scored 34 of the team’s 39 points.
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