Trinity boys, girls win South State

Published 12:00 am Sunday, February 19, 2017

Seniors Jasmine Ivory and D’Asia Mitchell both hit double figures as Trinity Episcopal ripped past Claiborne Academy 43-28 to claim the MAIS AA South State championship.

Ivory scored 17 points and Mitchell added 14 to lead the Lady Saints to the win.

“This is awesome, this is a great feeling,” Trinity coach Fay Minor said. “We started off slow, but the girls played their hearts out and couldn’t be denied.”

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Trinity started off slow, scoring just five points in each of the first two quarters. Claiborne led at the half 14-10, but Trinity hit its gear in the third period with a 15-7 spurt.

Fellow TE senior Alli Smith scored eight points.

“All my seniors really played well,” Minor said. “We played great defense. Our press was on tonight.”

Reid Goodwin led Claiborne in scoring with 14 points.

Trinity will receive a bye entering next week’s state tournament at Winona Christian School as the No. 1 seed from the South.

“We just want to keep everybody healthy,” Minor said. “They stayed focused, and they came out and took care of business.”

Trinity 79 (boys), Clinton Christian 63

Four Trinity Episcopal players reached double figures as the Saints cruised to a 79-63 win over Clinton Christian Academy to claim the MAIS AA South State title.

“I’m not sure the last time Trinity’s won (a South State title), but it’s been a while,” Trinity coach Andy Blair said. “I’m just super excited and happy to be able to share it with these kids.”

David Jackson led the Saints (21-4) with 23 points, while James Singleton had 15, Kevontaye Caston 12 and Jakarius Caston 10. Four more Trinity players produced points, highlighted by post player’s DeSanto Rollins 9.

Jackson, Kevontaye and Jakarius Caston were all named to the All-Tournament team, but Blair said he feels point guard Dee Flemming was equally deserving.

“I felt like Dee was the MVP of the tournament,” Blair said. “As Dee goes, we go. They overlooked him for some reason.”

Flemming had six points in the win for Trinity.

J.J. Hammond led CCA with 15 points.

With the win, Trinity earns a bye in next week’s state tournament at Winona Christian School as the South’s No. 1 seed.

“If we play with the same intensity that we played with the past two nights, I like our chances,” Blair said.