Thursday, February 23, 2006
|
|
| Patriots
finish fourth at State Tournament • In Overall for first time since 2002 By BARRY
BURLESON It was the probably the worst way to go out of a State Tournament, but Craig Dailey remained upbeat. His Marshall Academy Patriots fell victim to a last-second, desperation shot from just inside mid-court Saturday night in the consolation game at East Rankin. Indianola Academy escaped with the 40-37 win and the third seed from Class AA in this week’s Mississippi Private School Overall Tournament. MA is seeded fourth. It’s the Patriots’ first trip to Overall event since the 2001-02 season. “This is huge for these kids and even bigger for the program,” said Coach Dailey, in his first season at MA. “This group of young men showed us how to get there.” MA, 30-13 on the season, faced Desoto, Ark., (number three seed from Class A) Tuesday at 3:15 p.m. at Mississippi College. With a win, they meet Jackson Academy (number two seed from Class AAA) Wednesday at 2 p.m. The semi-finals are Friday at Millsaps College and the finals Saturday back at Mississippi College. Indianola held the ball for the last minute Saturday night and called timeout with 9.6 seconds to go. The Marshall defense stepped up to the challenge after the Colonels got the ball in-bounds. The ball slipped away from David Ostrander near half court, but he grabbed it and launched a shot just before the buzzer. It luckily banked its way through the net. “They drew up a play and got a 42-footer,” Dailey said. “I doubt that’s what they drew up. I’m proud of my kids. It was an evenly-matched game that came to down to that.” MA and Indianola played each other four times this season and each won two. The Patriots led 12-7 after one quarter, trailed 20-19 at the half and were up 31-28 at the end of three. Thomas Rodgers led the effort with 18 points. Marshall vs. Leake The Patriots, ranked fifth in the state, lost a hard-fought 48-41 game to second-ranked Leake Friday night in the semi-finals. “We had several opportunities,” Dailey said. “We just didn’t hit shots, and the ball didn’t bounce our way.” The Patriots went up 18-13 in the second quarter but then were stuck on 18 for several minutes. They still led 20-19 at the half but fell behind 35-27 following three quarters. “I was satisfied with the boys’ effort,” he said. “It just didn’t happen for us. We were close to playing for a state championship.” Rodgers was the leading point producer for MA. He poured in 19. Will Forester followed with nine. Marshall vs. Columbia Academy Dailey said his Patriots put together “probably our best game of the season” Tuesday night of last week in round one of the State Tournament. They blasted Columbia Academy 65-43. “Everybody contributed, and that’s what we have to have,” he said. “We call it ‘uglying it up’ - getting loose balls and getting a lot of cheap stuff. “Columbia is a very good team, and we made them not look so good.” John David Sanders was particularly a thorn in Columbia’s side. He fired in 22 points, 21 of those coming on seven threes. Brent Adams followed with 14 points, and Forester scored 12. MA built a 38-26 halftime advantage and stretched to lead to 15 points, 47-32 after three periods. Report News:
(662) 252-4261 or south@dixie-net.com
Web Site
managed and maintained by |
|
