1A SW BOYS FINAL: Kilcrease shoots Brantley into 1A state semis
Brantley’s Tucker Kilcrease hits one of his seven 3-pointers in leading the Bulldogs to their first State semifinal berth since 2013. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
Tucker Kilcrease wasn’t sure how he’d play in the Southeast Regional final against Loachapoka on Wednesday afternoon.
The Brantley senior had just been cleared by doctors the day before the sub-regional round. A shoulder he injured in the semifinals of the state football playoffs will need surgery, but he wanted to return to the basketball court this season so he rehabbed the shoulder.
Nine days later, Kilcrease bombed Loachapoka with seven 3 pointers, shooting the Bulldogs past the Indians and into the state tournament with a 62-52 win on Wednesday at Garrett Coliseum.
“I was thinking, man, if I’m going to make shots, today is the day to do it and I’m just hoping my team would trust me to make them and they did,” Kilcrease said.
Brantley (21-6) will play Covenant Christian (28-6) in the 1A semifinals at the BJCC Legacy Arena on Monday at 1:30 p.m.
“It’s something we haven’t done since I was a manager, since I was in the fourth grade,” Kilcrease said. “It’s a special feeling. We’re proud but just going to Birmingham isn’t our goal. We’re going there to win.”
Kilcrease came off the bench in just his third game of the 2021-22 season and immediately lit up the Indians, hitting 8 of 10 shots from the field, including 7 of 9 from behind the arc to finish with 24 points.
Brantley coach Andre Parks, a standout basketball player at nearby Luverne High in the 1990s, remembers playing defense against Tucker’s father, sharpshooter Andrew Kilcrease.
“The shot looks very similar,” Parks said. “I’ve seen his dad get in that zone a few times, also. Tucker, that’s the best I’ve seen him shoot it. I’m so proud of him. Tucker got an injury in the last football game, in the fourth round (of the state playoffs) and this is only his third game. Tucker gives us that extra dimension on the court where we can spread the floor against bigger teams.”
The Bulldogs needed an outside threat to combat the Indians, which featured post players Ja’saveion Moore and Jamari Payne, who had 14 and 13 points, respectively.
“They’re a bigger team and we knew that coming in,” Parks said. “No. 5 (Payne) and No. 4 (Moore) were really good for them. All year, we’ve been playing big teams and we haven’t really had that ability to stretch the floor.”
Kilcrease was a manager on the last Brantley team that reached the state tournament. In 2013, both Brantley teams reached the finals. The girls’ team won the 1A title before the boys’ team was edged on a last-second shot by St. Jude 57-56.
“I remember how I felt watching everybody,” Kilcrease said, “and that’s not the way I plan on leaving.”
With Kilcrease back on the court, Parks hopes this Bulldog team can bring the school its first state championship since Tony Stallworth won three consecutive titles in 1993-95.
“I see the banners, I know the expectations,” said Parks, now in his sixth year at the school. “We know we’ve got big shoes to fill. When I first got to Brantley, we used to talk a lot about, ‘Hey, we’re going to play well if we play hard.’ That’s not the case any more with these guys. I know they’re going to play hard.”