AISA CLASS AA FINALS: Edgewood sweeps for repeats
Edgewood’s Johnny Groves goes up for a shot against Abbeville Christian’s Ja'Varse Turner (3) and Bricen Davis in the Wildcats’ win in the Class AA state title game at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
Edgewood Academy had a new boys’ basketball coach and more than a few questions entering the 2023-24 season.
A month into the season, those questions only grew.
“In November we were 2-8 and wondering if we were going to make the playoffs,” said first-year coach Scott Phillips, who came out of private business to take over as head coach. “We were trying to kill each other, nobody liked each other, but I just told them if we would keep working – we have 11 seniors – anything is possible in February. And we just proved that anything is possible in February.”
The Wildcats (14-16) closed out the season by winning seven of their final eight games, including a 45-42 win over Abbeville Christian Academy in the AISA Class AA championship game at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl on Friday afternoon. It was the second consecutive boys’ basketball title for Edgewood, and the fourth in the last nine years, but it didn’t seem possible earlier in the year.
“I believed in us from the start, but it started off rough,” admitted senior Brody Whitt. “Gabe (LeMaster) got hurt, it took a while for Johnny (Groves) to get back his game but when he did, he’s a great scorer. We just all came together.”
Abbeville Christian (19-8) had defeated Edgewood twice during the season, but a gamble by Phillips in the third meeting paid off for the Wildcats.
He elected to concentrate on forward Shi Crawford and center Ja’Varse Turner, forcing the Generals’ guards to win with perimeter shots. The gamble paid off as the Generals were 4 of 27 from behind the arc.
“That was our game plan, to make them shoot 3’s,” Phillips said. “The last two times, No. 3 (Turner) and another big kid down low had 17, 18, 20 points. We wanted them to shoot the 3 because we felt like, with that, we would have two big guys down low -- we won the rebounding battle tonight -- and we wanted them to shoot that.”
Brock Whitt had 15 points and Groves added 14 for the Wildcats, along with eight crucial points from LeMaster, who returned from an injured knee this week.
“He has not played all year,” Phillips said. “He came to me Monday and said, ‘I want to play this week.’ He was the reason we won this tournament.”
Jayden Buckhannon led Abbeville Christian with 16 points, followed by Turner with 10 and Crawford with nine.
Edgewood Academy girls celebrate their third-straight state championship. (Tim Gayle)
Edgewood girls three-peat
Lindsey Brown wasn’t leaving the court, even with a 20-point lead.
“I told him, no, I wanted to stay on the court,” said the Edgewood Academy senior, who picked up her 10th state championship on Friday. “I told (coach Brad Starks) I was going to stay on the court until the last second.”
Brown and fellow senior Madison Martin celebrated the Wildcats’ third consecutive Class AA state championship, beating Sparta Academy 46-28 at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl on Friday.
Brown, who accepted a volleyball scholarship to Alabama, finished with 22 points and Martin had 11 as the Wildcats pulled away late to ignite a celebration that started with the student section chanting “Go Lindsey Go” as she dribbled out the remaining seconds, then ended with her teammates mobbing her at center court at the conclusion of the game.
“She’s done so much for this league, just her energy and her effort every day,” Starks said. “She wanted to be on the court and she deserved to be on the court. We kind of joked that the minute and a half that she dribbled around with the girl chasing her was a good-enough curtain call for her because that’s kind of how she is -- the constant competitor, just doesn’t have a day off.”
While the game ended much like expected, it took a while to get there. Edgewood (29-3) could never shake the pesky Warriors, who hung around despite a second-quarter display of energy and enthusiasm from Brown that was designed to fire up her teammates but actually drew a response from Sparta players as well.
“We were really nervous,” Starks said. “I think it was we felt like we should be winning the game and sometimes we jump out on teams but when Sparta kind of didn’t let that happen, we got a little bit tight. It took us a while to wake up and get going. But she did what she does. We fed off of her, then everybody was able to play.”
Sparta (22-4) has reached the Final Four in each of the last 10 years but hasn’t won a state title in that span, a testimony to how a Russ Brown-coached Warrior team could keep the game close even when it didn’t have the feel of a closely contested matchup.
“The whole entire game, it felt kind of slow,” Brown said. “Playing in the Multiplex, it can get very nerve-wracking. I just told the team control your nerves, control your composure. Take a deep breath and be thankful you’re here. Play to the best of your ability because you want to go out on top.”
Once again, Brown went out on top. As the final seconds ran off the clock, she realized she was playing her very last basketball game.
“Yesterday at practice, we were playing songs and it just hit me at mid-practice,” she said. “I started crying mid-practice. I just realized this is really it. Then, at the end of the game, it really hit me again. It just feels like a big full-circle moment and I would not be where I am today without anyone at my school, my family, my friends, coaches, teammates, anyone.”
After winning six state titles in volleyball, one in softball and two in basketball, she capped her remarkable basketball career with a 10th championship.
“My motto today was ‘fill the fingers,’” Brown said, “so I had to get all 10.”