MA runner-up in 3A Div. II

Too many turnovers in the early going, coach Jeff Dalton said, proved costly in the long run for his Marshall Academy basketball team Friday night.

The Patriots, trailing 25-17 at the half, tied the game at 45 with 44 seconds left before falling 50-45 to Rossville Christian Academy in the Mid-South Association of Independent Schools Class 3A Division II championship game at Grenada.

“We dug too deep a hole and just never recovered,” he said. “We battled back to tie the game, but we ran out of gas and couldn’t make the winning plays down the stretch.”

Leading scorers for MA were Carlos Young with 18 and Kaleb Luse with 13. The main man for Rossville was Seth Williams, who poured in a game-high 31 points. Williams hit 14 of 18 free-throw tries in the second half. Dallas Freeman added 10 for the Wolves.

“I’m so proud of my guys for showing tremendous fight,” said Dalton, whose Patriots finished the season with a 20-9 record. “This is one my favorite teams I’ve ever coached. It’s a great group of young men. I will really miss coaching these seniors, and I am grateful I had the opportunity.”

Seniors are Luse, Young, Artavious Wilson, Jaden Walker, Makhi Findley, Brett Hicks and Cade Sanders.

Marshall reached the championship game with a 52-38 win over Columbia Academy Tuesday of last week. Hicks led the way with 13 points, while Luse scored 10 and Findley added nine.

The Patriots were up 26-18 at the midway point. Columbia cut the deficit to three in the third but MA outscored the Cougars 20-9 in the fourth to win by 14. Luse scored six in the final period.