Rarely do you find two top-ranked teams from different regions who are willing to play each other during the regular season. But the Morgan County and Buford boys were able to hook up to start the season and again near the end. Now, after splitting those two games, they meet in the Class AAA championship game.
Morgan County got there by beating defending state champion Johnson in the semifinal round. The Bulldogs (25-5) have been motivate all year by its second-round expulsion by North Hall. “That left a bitter taste in our mouth,” coach Charlemagne Gibbons said.
Morgan is led by junior point guard Tookie Brown, a 6-foot-2 junior who has started since his freshman season. Brown is a good floor leader, but is most effective as an outside shooter. The Mississippi State commitment averages 25 points and scored 26 against Johnson.
Morgan also has a stellar big man in C.J. Turman, who averages 12 points and 10 rebounds. A physical inside presence, Turman has committed to Tennessee. Sophomore Jailyn Ingram is another big guy with a lot of ability.
Buford (27-5) has two strong players in Rakim Lubin, who has committed to UConn, and sophomore D’Marcus Simonds. Both are explosive scorers, just as Callaway; Lubin scored 37and Simmonds had 30 against Callaway in the semifinals.
In addition to playing home-and-home games with each other, both teams test themselves with difficult non-region games. Morgan County played Allatoona, Lanier, St. Francis, Berkmar and Clarke Central, as well as two strong out-of-state teams. Buford played AAAAA finalist Miller Grove, AAAAAA finalist Tift County and 7-AAAAAA champion North Gwinnett.
In head-to-head meetings, Morgan won the first game 76-65 in Madison and Buford returned the favor by winning 69-55.
