No. 1 Morgan County 66, No. 5 Jenkins 56
No. 1 @MCHSbasketball1 vs No. 5 Jenkins in a rematch of last year's 62-60 Warrior win pic.twitter.com/UwLt38fNSV
— Kyle Sandy (@KyleSandy355) March 5, 2016
No. 1 Morgan County (26-4) completed the difficult task of sweeping Class AAA following the No. 1-ranked girls team winning their first title since 1983. Jailyn Ingram and Jordan Ford’s size inside wore down the smaller No. 5 Jenkins Warriors (28-5) as the Bulldogs avenged last year’s 62-60 loss in the final seconds, 66-56.
Jenkins led 12-11 at the end of one and was able to use its speed against Morgan County’s size. Zion Williams scored eight of his 15 points in the first half and began a surge to give the Warriors the lead after trailing 21-16. Williams ran off six straight points to give Jenkins a 24-23 lead with 2:17 to play.
END 1Q
No. 5 Jenkins 12
No. 1 @MCHSbasketball1 11Tre Lamar is 0-4 with 0 pts to start the game. @shootemkirk w/ 6p pic.twitter.com/krwtBnc0Aj
— Kyle Sandy (@KyleSandy355) March 5, 2016
Wild scramble results in a Jailyn Ingram dunk.
15-14 @MCHSbasketball1 pic.twitter.com/yHy6tDqESO
— Kyle Sandy (@KyleSandy355) March 5, 2016
The Warriors held a 28-26 lead at halftime but Coach Jamond Sims’ size was starting to chip away at Jenkins, causing foul trouble for star junior Trevion Lamar, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder. Lamar finished the night 2-of-9 from the field with just five points, seven rebounds, three turnovers and four fouls.
“You have to kind of crowd him when he gets in his sweet spots. He kind of got a little bit hesitant especially when he picked up his early two fouls,” explained Coach Sims. “Once they inserted him back in we chose to keep going at him.”
The Bulldogs went on a 12-4 run to end the third quarter and gain a 42-38 lead entering the fourth that they would never relinquish. Jenkins cut the lead to four at 47-43 after Dimetri Chambers connected on a three-pointer, part of his team-high 17 points, and again at 53-49 after another Chambers bucket, but the Warriors would get no closer.
Tough hoop from @shootemkirk 51-43 pic.twitter.com/MaRmvRupLC
— Kyle Sandy (@KyleSandy355) March 6, 2016
Ingram was the beneficiary of the Bulldog attack. The Florida Atlantic signee scored 11 of his game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter and pulled down nine rebounds in his final game. Ford added 17 points and five rebounds of his own.
Morgan County’s senior class of Jailyn Ingram, DeVorious Brown, Jordan Ford and Emmanuel Little, highlighted by FAU signees Ingram and Brown, were the foundation of an incredible senior class who’s worst season ended with a loss in the Elite Eight.
“Those are kids that have won over 100 games in their career. Been to the state championship three times.”
Their championship pedigree shone through as Brown tallied eight points and four assists while Little added six points and three assists. Freshman Alec Woodard chipped in seven points and eight rebounds, a part of a bright future. Michael Coffee finished with 11 points and seven rebounds in the loss for Jenkins.
Morgan County shot 57.1 percent to Jenkins’ 32.3.
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