Photo: Glencoe’s Garrett Morgan moves against Piedmont’s Taylon Swain during the Yellow Jackets’ 77-63 victory in the Northeast Regional Tournament basketball Class 3A championship game on Tuesday, Feb. 18 at Jacksonville State. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger)
By Chris McCarthy/Publisher
Glencoe boys basketball head coach Ryan Chambless did not hesitate when asked for the primary reason why the team will make its first Final Four appearance since 2005.
“We did a very good job of controlling the ball a
nd playing with the lead.”
Facing Piedmont in the Northeast Regional Tournament Class 3A championship game on Tuesday, Feb. 18 at Jacksonville State, the Yellow Jackets led for all but 1:36 of game time en route to a 77-63 victory and a berth in next week’s state tournament. Glencoe (25-7) will face either Rogers or Mars Hill Bible on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Complex. The Class 3A state final is set for Friday, Feb. 28 at 2:15 p.m.
Tuesday marked the fourth time the Area 12 rival have met this season. Piedmont won the first two games by a margin of six points before Glencoe beat the Bulldogs by seven points in the area tournament finals.
“I’m extremely proud of how hard we played and how hard we competed,” said Chambless. “I can’t say enough about the effort they put forth. Piedmont’s a good team, and we knew they were going to keep battling and weren’t going to go away. But there’s no substitute for experience, and our guys have a lot of games under their belts. I think across all sports, the teams that have been there and done that have a better chance at being successful.”
Leading by four points at halftime, the Yellow Jackets pushed the Bulldogs back on their heels with a barrage of three-pointers during the third quarter – two by Garrett Morgan and one apiece from Jalen Hunter and Jayden Patton. Morgan’s runner with three seconds left pushed the GHS advantage to 52-25.
“We’ve handled the ball pretty well all year,” said Chambless. “So I trust our guys when were ahead to make the right decisions and take the good shots or the let other team foul.”
Glencoe continued to press the issue early in the fourth period. Patton’s steal and resulting layup 12 seconds in, followed by Wade Segrest’s trey 32 seconds later, made it a 21-point cushion.
The Yellow Jackets did not score from the field over the next few minutes, and the Bulldogs gradually chipped away until three straight three-pointers from Ish Bethel narrowed the gap to single digits at 68-62 with two minutes on the game clock.
“I knew we couldn’t [stall] that early,” said Chambless. “I just want to make sure that we were getting layups or getting to the [free throw] line.
Piedmont (19-9) had to start fouling in order to regain possession, and their fate was sealed when Morgan and Hunter combined to go 5-for-6 at the free throw line down the stretch. Glencoe wound up shooting 71 percent 12-for-17) from the foul line in the fourth quarter and 68 percent (14-for-21) overall.
Morgan paced the Yellow Jackets with 20 points, followed by Segrest and Smith with 16 each, Patton with 11, Jalen Hunter with eight and Bryce Borntrager with six. Smith grabbed six rebounds, followed by Morgan and Borntrager with five each and Patton with four.
Bethel scored 28 points for Piedmont, with Rollie Pinto adding 14 and Colton Proctor chipping in 12.
Smith fired up the Yellow Jackets’ engine by scoring their first nine points of the game. Borntrager netted the next two baskets, while Segrest’s three-pointer at 1:57 gave Glencoe the lead for good. Patton’s buzzer-beating trey provided the Jackets with a 21-13 advantage.
“Bryce got us off to a really good start, and Grant played his tail off from start to finish,” said Chambless. “Jalen Hunter came in and did a good job of guarding Ish, who probably was their best player today.”
Glencoe gained its first double-digit lead of the game 30 seconds into the second quarter when Smith’s three-point basket staked the Yellow Jackets to a 24-13 lead. Segrest scored six more points during the period, but Piedmont drew within 34-30 at intermission.
“To our boys’ credit, they’ve been nothing but a joy to work with every day,” said Chambless. “I can’t think of another group that I’ve coached that is more deserving of this honor. They’ve made the most of this opportunity, and that’s what I’m most proud of. It’s not an easy job to win games, especially [this] late [in the season] when there are so many good teams. To continue to keep playing is a blessing.”
