C.A. Johnson 72 – Bethune Bowman 64
by Chris Dearing
COLONIAL LIFE ARENA
- Seniors Aissacc Germany and Javarius Wyche each scored 24 points to lead CA Johnson to its first state championship since 2014 in a thrilling 72-64 victory over Bethune-Bowman Saturday afternoon.
- The Hornets survived a late surge by the Monarchs to add to title victories in 2014 and 1989.
- “It feels great. It hasn’t really hit me yet,” CAJ coach Robert McCray said. “This was for the community. That’s what it’s about. They’ve been supporting us since day one. We’re bringing that life and that excitement back to the community. We wanted to show out to everyone that came out to support us.”
- CA Johnson (24-7) only trailed at 4-2 and took control with a 15-2 run to end the first quarter to turn a 7-all tie into a 22-9 lead. The margin got as large as 16 points in the second half when the Hornets led 48-32 but Bethune-Bowman (25-4) closed the third quarter on a 9-0 run to close within 48-41.
- It looked like the CAJ had taken control when they went up by 17 at 64-47 with 3:55 remaining but Bethune-Bowman had one more run in them behind the play of Terrance McFadden. The Monarchs used a 15-1 run to make it 65-62 with 1:39 remaining. It was again a three-point margin at 67-64 before the Hornets scored the final five points over the last 1:18 to claim the victory.
- Junior Milton McCray joined the two seniors in double figures with 14 points. Germany had a double-double at halftime and finished with 24 points, 17 rebounds and seven steals. McFadden was almost enough to overcome the big trio from CA Johnson. The senior scored 31 points and 14 rebounds. Jaden Bell added 16 points, but the Monarchs turned it over 31 times that led to a 32-15 advantage to CAJ on points off turnovers.