No. 1-ranked Miller Grove became the first high school boys basketball team in Georgia to win six consecutive state championship Friday when the Wolverines defeated No. 7 Warner Robins 70-43 in the Class AAAAA final at the Macon Coliseum.
Miller Grove (28-5) won for the 13th consecutive time and snapped the 20-game winning streak of Warner Robins, which had not lost since December. The difference was a remarkable third quarter in which Miller Grove outscored the Demons 26-7, which quieted the partisan crowd, and broke open what had been a competitive game. Miller Grove won its five state playoff games by an average of 24 points.
Miller Grove was led by Keith Pinckney, who committed to Tulane, with 21 points and seven rebounds, and James Walker with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Warner Robins (28-3) got 15 points from Marquez Callaway and 13 points and five rebounds from Nathan Curry.
Miller Grove put the game away at the beginning of the third quarter. The Wolverines went on a 14-1 run, which included a three-point play from both Alterique Gilbert and Pinckney and a 3-point basket by Pinckney. The run pushed the lead to 41-24, and the Wolverines were not threatened again.
In what has been a historic season for DeKalb County’s premier boys program, the Wolverines saw Gilbert and Pinckney both surpass 500 points, joining former standouts Mfon Udofia, Tony Parker and Kyrie Hamer.
Miller Grove dedicated its season to the memory of former player Terrell Coleman, a 15-year-old who died while playing in an AAU basketball game last fall.
Miller Grove used a 7-0 run, including a three-point play from Raylon Richardson, to break free from a 4-4 tie. But Warner Robins regained its composure and scored seven of the next nine points, five of them coming from Marquez Callaway, to draw within a basket. Miller Grove’s Walker hit a soft jumper near the end of the quarter, which the Wolverines led 15-11.
Miller Grove stretched its lead to 17-11 before Warner Robins responded with five consecutive points to close the margin to one. The Wolverines then got back-to-back baskets from Deven Dorsett, the first one to finish a possession that included six shots, and the second that resulted in a three-point play and put the margin back at six points.
Miller Grove had the lead at nine points when Gamaun Boykins drained a 3-pointer, but Warner Robins answered the next trip down court when Callaway was fouled on a 3-pointer and converted the four-point play to make the score 27-22, which stood as the halftime lead.
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