Macon – It would be hard to imagine a better defensive effort than the one Brunswick produced in the Class AAAAA championship game.
The Pirates dominated Allatoona 49-32 on Friday to win the school’s first state basketball championship. They limited the Bucs to 23.6 percent shooting from the field, outrebounded them 44-27 and allowed them to score only three points in the third quarter.
“The 32 points is awesome,” Brunswick coach Chris Turner said. “Our goal is 50.”
It was the fewest points scored by a losing team in a championship game since Miller Grove beat Tucker 59-31 in the 2009 title game.
That third quarter was the turning point in the game. Brunswick led 22-17 at halftime and came out to score the first 16 points to take control of the game. Allatoona never had an answer in its first appearance in a championship game.
“It just happened,” Turner said. “Our guys were relentless. We love to play physical. We intend to beat people up as much as possible.”
Brunswick forward Roger Davis scored 19 and center Kymani Dunham scored 14 for the Pirates (29-2), who finished the season with a 21-game winning streak.
“It’s unbelievable,” Davis said. “It’s a great feeling to win a state championship.”
Allatoona (29-3) was led by Rodney Brown with eight points and five rebounds. The Buccaneers had their 18-game winning streak broken in their first trip to the state championship game.
Brunswick raced out to an early lead, which reached seven points on a monstrous slam by brawny Kymani Dunham. The Pirates stretched the lead to 10 on a bucket by Davis at the buzzer that gave them a 17-7 lead.
Both teams were sloppy to start the second period. Allatoona finally trimmed to lead to single digits when Brown scored on a putback with 4:14 to make it 19-11. Brown added two more baskets in a 6-2 spurt to end the half and cut Brunswick’s lead to 22-17.
Allatoona shot only 26.9 percent in the half, but benefitted from nine Brunswick turnovers. The Pirates were only slightly better from the field, making 38.9 percent.
Brunswick came out in the third quarter and scored the first six points, getting two baskets on putbacks from Dunham and another on a layup by Davis. That run stretched Brunswick’s lead to 28-17 with 5:35 left in the third period, with Allatoona calling timeout.
“Our bigs came to play in the second half,” Turner said. “We stuck with what we do. The big thing in the third quarter was not beating ourselves. That’s how that got that run in the second quarter, we let them back in.
“Once we figured out we were better than they were tonight, it was over.”
That stoppage didn’t stop the Brunswick run. The Pirates scored the next six points, completing the 12-0 streak on a putback by Davis that extended the lead to 34-17 with 3:18 left in the third quarter. Dunham scored two more from close range to make it 38-17. The Pirates went to the fourth quarter with a 38-20 lead.
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