The No. 1-ranked Miller Grove Wolverines – who have won five consecutive state titles – will enter this year’s state playoffs as a No. 1 seed after edging the third-ranked Stephenson Jaguars 60-52 for the Region 6-AAAAA championship on Wednesday night at Tucker.
The Wolverines (23-5) beat the Jaguars (21-7) at the free throw line, with all but four of their 19 fourth-quarter points coming from the charity stripe.
“Just grit and desire to win,” said Wolverines coach Sharman White on how his team was able to pull off their third consecutive region title. “We said before the game we wanted to make this one of our crowning moments for our fallen comrade, Terrell Coleman, and we just played with that energy the whole game and would not quit.”
Coleman, a 6-foot-5, 15-year-old freshman standout for Miller Grove, collapsed and died in October while playing basketball in the offseason.
The Wolverines got a big night from Alterique Gilbert, who led all scorers with 24 points.
“We’re playing with confidence every time we step on the floor. We know who we’re playing for and what we’re playing for,” said Gilbert, a sophomore, referring to Coleman and a state title.
The Wolverines led 23-22 at halftime and 41-38 after three quarters. The Jaguars pulled ahead 47-43 with 4:31 remaining, but couldn’t hold onto the lead as the Wolverines went 15-for-19 from the line in the fourth quarter.
Stephenson was just 2-for-7 from the line in the fourth quarter.
Senior Keith Pinckney scored 16 points and was 10-for-10 from the free throw line for Miller Grove.
Both Miller Grove and Stephenson begin their state playoff journeys Friday, hosting an opponent to be determined.
Send Adam Krohn an email at AdamKrohnAJC@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter.
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