Kobi Simmons showed again why he is considered the No. 1 senior in the state and why his St. Francis team is again in position to win another state championship.
Simmons scored 44 points to lead St. Francis to a 105-79 win over St. Anne-Pacelli in the Class A Private quarterfinals at Kennesaw State on Friday.
St. Francis will play long-time rival Whitefield Academy in the semifinal round on Saturday at 8:15 p.m. at Kennesaw State.
Simmons had 26 points at the half as the Knights jumped out to a 9-0 lead and led 53-38 at halftime. Simmons played deep into the fourth quarter and scored the basket that put the Knights over the 100-point mark for the first time this season.
“He’s going good right now,” St. Francis coach Andrew Catlett said. “Kobi is always in attack mode. He’s ready to go from the start.”
No. 2 seed St. Francis (22-7) also got 21 points and 12 rebounds from Chance Anderson, 13 points from Anthony Showell and 10 points from Wallace Tucker.
“I thought Chance Anderson had a really good game,” Catlett said. “He’s got a long wingspan and he did a good job on the glass and we went to him inside. Our players recognized that we had a size advantage with him and kept trying to get him the ball. I’d like to see him get it a little more.”
No. 10 St. Anne-Pacelli (17-10) was led by Triston Wells with 28 points and Tre Sudbury with 22. Armon Prophet scored 16, including three 3-pointers in the second half.
St. Francis jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead to take control of the game. Before the foul-riddled first half was finished the Knights had a 53-38 lead. St. Anne-Pacelli’s Ricky Carter fouled out before halftime, leaving when he got a technical foul for saying something to the official on his way off the court.
“We knew it would be a fast-paced game and we knew if we didn’t hit shots it was going to be an uphill fight,” Griffin said. “We showed we have some talent, but we’re not deep enough or long enough to get behind.”
That 9-0 start was just what St. Francis needed, Catlett said.
“We like to play up tempo,” he said. “They’ve got guys who can shoot and score. I was reading about their team and the seniors they have and the three guards and they average a lot of points. I knew they could shoot it. You could never relax. Get up 10 or 12 and they hit a 3. Get up 15 and they hit a 3. That kind of team worries you.”
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