Wilkinson County took the lead for good on Torrico Simmons’ 3-pointer with just under five minutes left and defeated Wilcox County 53-49 to win the boys Class A-Public championship Thursday, its third state title since 2007 and sixth overall.
Simmons scored eight of Wilkinson County’s nine points in the fourth quarter and finished with 20. He made six 3-pointers.
Makail Grace scored 20 points for Wilcox County (23-5), which had four chances to take the lead in the final 3:30, but couldn’t get a shot to fall.
Wilkinson County (30-2) led by as many as six in the third quarter, which ended with the Warriors up 44-39, but Wilcox County pulled even twice in the first 2:30 of the fourth, the last coming on a 3-pointer by Calvin Rawls, a shot that tied the score at 47. Simmons answered with his tie-breaking 3.
Fred Green added 11 points and Kareem Sanders 10 for Wilkinson County.
— JAY STONE
Girls Class A-Public
Gordon Lee 61, Randolph-Clay 56: The Trojans had a 19-point lead going into the fourth quarter and held off a Red Devils rally at the Macon Centreplex to win the first basketball state championship in school history.
Kassidy Blevins led the way for Gordon Lee (25-7), scoring 21 points to go with eight rebounds, four steals, three assists and a blocked shot. Katie Barger had a big first half, scoring all 14 of her points as Gordon Lee built a 36-19 halftime lead.
Randolph-Clay (29-3) trailed 50-31 going into the fourth quarter and outscored Gordon Lee 12-2 over the next four minutes, but the Red Devils never got closer than the five-point final margin.
Randolph-Clay’s Kaneika Washington led all scorers with 26 points, including 11 during the Red Devils’ 25-point fourth quarter.
— CHIP SAYE
