Miller Grove is one win away from capturing the Class AAAA state championship for the third season in a row.
Tony Parker scored a game-high 19 points in a 65-52 win over scrappy Jonesboro in Wednesday's semifinals at Gwinnett Arena.
"That's what we work for at Miller Grove. We built this program with the idea of playing for state championships every year," coach Sharman White said.
"It's an expectation. Now whether we get there or not we'll have to see, but we're going to work hard trying. But yes, we're here now, with a chance to win a third in a row, and hopefully we'll take care of that last little bit of business."
Unlike the past two seasons, Miller Grove is making its championship run without the team's emotional and defensive leader, senior Henry Brooks. The 6-foot-8 Brooks suffered a left knee sprain in the opening minute of Saturday's quarterfinals and did not play Wednesday.
His status for Friday's state championship against the Fayette County-Rockdale County winner is unknown.
"We miss Henry out there, but his future means too much to risk anything," White said. "I care about him after Miller Grove."
Jonesboro gave Miller Grove an early scare, leading by as many as five points in the second quarter. However, the two-time state champions closed out the half on a 11-2 run, punctuated by Christian Houston's 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 29-25 advantage.
"It wasn't scary at all. We've been down worse than that," White said. "We didn't come out and play very well in the first half, but we made adjustments.
"It's just a matter of being battle-tested and responding. We didn't really play our best defense until the fourth quarter. That's when we made the big stops and did the little things to come away with the win."
Jonesboro's Rasham Suarez drilled a 3-pointer to cut Miller Grove's lead to 49-46 with 6:11 left in the game. Then the DeKalb powerhouse finally put away the game with a steady dose of Parker, the 6-9, 270-pound junior who has around 50 early scholarship offers, including from Duke and North Carolina.
Parker had two dunks and a layup after an offensive rebound in a 9-3 run to seal the win.
"That is what we've been doing all year long. We count on Tony for the big baskets," White said.
Miller Grove point guard Thomas Marshall scored six of his 10 points in the fourth quarter, while teammate Brandon Morris also finished with 10. Jonesboro was led by Jordan Enadeghe with 13 points and Suarez with 12.
About the Author
