Trinity boys, girls fall in State Tournament
Published 12:04 am Wednesday, February 18, 2009
BROOKHAVEN — Both of Trinity Episcopal’s basketball teams went down in the first round of the MPSA Class AA State Tournament Tuesday at Brookhaven Academy, and in the process had their seasons come to a disappointing end.
The Trinity Episcopal Saints were without Jackson Bryant, one of their starters, who was sick and did not make the trip. That proved to be a big blow as the South State runner-up Saints were upset by North No. 3 seed Lee Academy (Miss.) 47-39 Tuesday afternoon.
The Saints trailed the Colts from Clarksdale 12-10 after one quarter of play, but used a 9-4 run in the second quarter to take a 19-16 halftime lead. But the Saints struggled offensively in the third quarter and found themselves down 28-24 at the end of the quarter.
Unfortunately for Trinity Episcopal, there would be no comeback magic in the fourth quarter as the Saints were outscored by the Colts 19-15.
Patrick Clark scored 10 points and Douglas Smith added nine points to lead a balanced scoring attack for Lee Academy.
Brandon Daggs scored a game-high 20 points and Givonni Dent had 10 points to lead Trinity Episcopal, which finished with a 28-9 record.
In the girls’ game, the Lady Rebels from Leake Academy pulled away after a closer-than-expected first half between the North State champion and the South No. 4 seed.
Led by Caroline Ketchings and Bethany Ogden, Trinity Episcopal stayed with Leake Academy throughout the first two quarters. The first quarter ended in a 16-16 tie and by halftime, the Lady Saints were down by just three points at 28-25.
Ketchings led Trinity Episcopal (22-16) with 22 points and Ogden finished with 13 points.
However, Leake Academy proved why it is the top-ranked team in Class AA by pulling away in the second half. The Lady Rebels upped their lead to eight points at the end of the third quarter and then scored 24 points in the fourth quarter.
Jenny Wilbanks led Leake Academy with 25 points while Emily Kea had 19 points and Hanna Peoples chipped in with 16 points. The Lady Rebels will take on the winner of today’s game between North No. 3 seed Indianola Academy and South State runner-up Brookhaven Academy Friday at 2:15 p.m.