Thursday, March 1, 2007
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Thursday, March 1, 2007 |
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Community | Obits | Editorial & Columnists | Society | Sports | Education | Classified Ads | Calendar of Events | Features | Newsbriefs | Legals | Archives | Subscriptions | Photo Gallery |
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Marshall teams fourth in state, advance to Overall Tournament By
BARRY BURLESON
The Class AA State Basketball Tournament started on a sweet note for Marshall Academy teams but then turned a bit sour. The Lady Patriots and Patriots got first round wins to qualify for this week’s Mississippi Private School Association Overall Tournament. Then both teams lost semi-final and consolation games at Brookhaven, three of the four by a total of four points. Round One The MA girls held Copiah Academy to single-digit scoring in every quarter and earned the easy 44-17 victory Wednesday of last week. The Lady Patriots led 21-8 at the half and outscored Copiah 12-3 in the third quarter to secure the win. Kim Shaw tossed in 17 points for Marshall, 11 of those in the second half. Traci Rodgers and Chelsea Faulkenbery added seven points each. “Kim had a great game leading us in her first state tournament game,” coach Craig Dailey said. “I’m really proud for my seniors, getting to experience state. Chelsea had a solid offensive game and her normal stifling defensive game.” The MA boys came out red hot against Central Private (La.) in their first round state tournament game Wednesday. They went up 26-15 after one period and went on to record the 59-52 victory. Seth Milliorn and Jimmy Palmer carried the load on offense. They combined for 44 points, 23 from Milliorn and 21 from Palmer. “Seth and Jimmy lit them up from start to finish, and we needed every point,” Dailey said. “They were the type team that’s given us fits all year – athletic, strong and quick in all five spots. We survived and advanced.” Marshall led 40-27 at the half. Semi-Finals For the second time in seven days, the Lady Patriots gave top-ranked and undefeated Leake Academy all it could handle for one half. MA led 27-24 at the intermission before losing 73-44. It was the first time all season the Leake girls had been behind at any point after the first quarter. “I felt we had them nailed going in scout-wise, and it showed with the three-point halftime lead,” Dailey said. The Lady Rebels turned it up a notch in the third quarter, outscoring Marshall 31-8, to keep their perfect record intact. “They are explosive,” Dailey said. “They are 38-0 for a reason. Their third quarter was unbelievable.” Three MA players scored in double figures – Rodgers with 14, Faulkenbery with 13 and Shaw with 11. “Traci and Kim had good offensive games versus their pressure,’ he aid. “Chelsea has led us defensively all year, and this game was no different, except she led us offensively as well.” The Patriots took two-time defending state champion Brookhaven to the buzzer Friday night on the Cougars’ home court and dropped a 61-60 heartbreaker. Things started slowly for the visitors. MA trailed 12-0 early and 18-8 after one period. Then Palmer opened the second quarter with two threes and quickly cut the deficit to 18-14. With less than a minute to go in the first half, Palmer cashed in a layup on an assist from Liautaud Prophete and the game was knotted at 28. “Being down 12-0 to start the game, we could have packed up and went home, but we didn’t,” Dailey said. “It was a tremendous comeback. Our kids showed a lot of heart.” Marshall was down 31-28 at the half. The Patriots fell behind by as many as nine points in the third quarter but battled back. Milliorn scored on a putback with 1:33 to go in the period and they trailed 46-44. Marshall tied it at 46 with 5:49 to go in the game on Palmer’s short jumper. Then with 5:15 left the Patriots went ahead on for the first time, 48-46. Gene Alexin got the bucket on an assist from Tyler Sanders. It was pressure-packed from there. Palmer hit two more threes, one to tie the game at the 2:55 mark and one to give MA a 56-53 lead with 1:42 remaining. Milliorn’s drive and basket with 15 seconds left put MA up 60-59. But Brookhaven scored with eight seconds to go and escaped with the one-point win. MA’s last-second shot to pull it out just missed the mark. “We got a good look to win it,” Dailey said. “It just didn’t happen. “It’s a really tough place to play for a multitude of reasons. “If you’re going to get beat, you want to get beat giving it your all and falling short, and we did.” Palmer’s 19 points led Marshall. He hit five threes, three in the second half. Milliorn added 16, Prophete 10, Alexin seven and Tyler Sanders six. “Yo, Gene and Tyler had some solid offensive contributions,” he said. MA was five of 13 from the free-throw line, two of four in the fourth. Brookhaven was 19 of 24 from the stripe, eight of 11 in the final period. The Cougars’ top two players, T-Boy Lynch and Corey Dickerson were 19 of 20 from the line. Two Patriots – Brent Adams and Prophete – fouled out in the fourth quarter. Consolation games The Lady Patriots trailed rival Delta 40-29 after three periods Saturday afternoon and appeared dead. But they found new life in the fourth and lost a tense 49-48 contest. The Lady Raiders went up by as many as 14 points early in the fourth and then went to the stall game. It didn’t work. Several MA steals and Shaw’s scoring surge led a rally. Her three with 2:14 to go cut the deficit to 43-41. Another Shaw three with 1:08 to go tied the game at 46. Rodgers’ two free throws gave the Lady Patriots a 48-46 lead with 57 seconds left. Delta tied it again with two free throws at the 44-second mark and won it on another free throw with no time left on the clock. “Delta just outplayed us for three quarters and we almost got them in the fourth,” Dailey said. “Kim had a very solid offensive game, especially with 14 points in the fourth quarter.” Shaw finished with 18. Faulkenbery and Rodgers added 13 each. “Chelsea played extremely well on both ends of the floor,” he said. The Patriots, with Milliorn sidelined due to the flu, fell 46-44 to rival Delta in Saturday evening’s consolation contest. “It was a typical Marshall-Delta barnburner,” Dailey said. “Having to play without Seth was tough, but it did allow us to do somethings I’ve felt we were capable of doing that could aid us in Overall” MA lead 13-8 after one quarter and 22-20 at the half. The game was tied at 32 after three periods. Palmer poured in 18 points. Alexin added 11. Brent Adams and Prophete had six each. “Jimmy hit some huge shots, and Gene did a great job of trying to fill some of the void without Seth. We just made too many mistakes with the game on the line,” Dailey said. Schedule The Lady Patriots (34-11) opened Overall Tournament play at Mississippi College Tuesday at 10 a.m. against Bayou Academy. With a win, they will face top-seeded MRA Wednesday at 3 p.m. The Patriots (28-13) faced Trinity Episcopal School Tuesday at 11:15 a.m. in round one. With a win, the will meet top-seeded MRA Wednesday at 4:15 p.m. The dates and times for the semi-finals and championships have not been set. Report News:
(662) 252-4261 or south@dixie-net.com
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