Big South 3A girls finale an 'instant classic'; who won Bessemer City-Shelby grudge match?

BOILING SPRINGS — Kennette Bess’ night started with all eyes on her. Play stopped shortly after posting her first points in Friday’s Big South 3A title game, a banner was brought on the floor and unfurled in honor of the celebrated Ashbrook junior scoring her 1,000th career point.

Not even 90 minutes later, Bess again found herself with all of Crest High’s Ed Peeler Gymnasium focused on her every move. Though standing alone at the free throw line, the Green Wave standout said she was playing for so much more.

“Making it to 1,000 points was big, but I had to remind myself that it was just the beginning of the game,” Bess said. “I had to congratulate myself and feel good (about the accolade) for a second, then dust myself off and get back to work. I had to finish the game, my team needed me.”

With 4.5 seconds remaining and her team trailing Kings Mountain by a point, Bess coolly knocked down a pair of free throws to give Ashbrook a 62-61 victory and the 2022 Big South 3A championship. It is Ashbrook’s third consecutive tournament title and the program’s fifth in six seasons.

Bess finished with a team-high 29 points. Part of the Green Wave’s last three runs to conference championships, the junior standout said she’ll savor this one a tad more than the others.

“My first two, I had upperclassmen to help and really help us younger players follow their lead,” she said. “This time, we only have one senior. Someone else had to step up and be a leader, because she can’t be the only one responsible for that. So I just knew I had to help my team as much as I could.”

Another reason for Bess and her Ashbrook teammates to bask in their accomplishment? How hard Kings Mountain (18-5) made the Green Wave work to earn the crown.

With her team down 11 midway through the third, Kings Mountain’s Saniya Wilson decided to put her stamp on Friday’s proceedings. Whether it be finding her shot or creating opportunities for others, the Catawba signee single-handedly brought her team back into contention, reaching the 2,000-point mark for her career in the process.

Sixteen of Wilson’s game-high 34 points came in the third to trim Ashbrook’s lead to five, 52-47. Kings Mountain continued to push forward in the fourth, cutting the Green Wave advantage to two on multiple occasions. The Lady Mountaineers finally evened things up with a minute to go, Wilson’s bucket tying the game at 60-all.

After forcing an Ashbrook turnover, Wilson was fouled with 12 seconds remaining. Her first attempt rattled out, with her second going hitting the mark.

For Ashbrook, the miss left the door open on its league title hopes. But for Bess, it was an opportunity to make amends for a miscue she felt put the Green Wave in a bad situation.

“I told Madison (Cole), I told ZaZa (Mason) that after I made a bad pass (earlier in the fourth), I told them ‘I’ll get that back.’ They told me that they were holding me to it,” she said. “I knew I had (the Kings Mountain defender) beat and they would call a blocking foul. I had to take things into my own hands.

“I’ve been hitting my free throws, so I felt really confident going up there and knocking both down.”

After a timeout, Wilson hastily dribbled the ball up the floor but her shot from just beyond the arc fell short, sending Ashbrook (18-8) players onto the floor in celebration.

“Being on the bench and watching the girls fight through adversity … we told them to let things come to them, but of course that’s how basketball works. The last free throws, to the last shot at the buzzer, our girls prevailed,” said Ashbrook girls basketball coach Tremayne Booker.

Joining Bess in double figures was Cole with 15 while Mason added 11. As for Kings Mountain, Khalia King added 13 points in a losing effort.

Big South 3A

Boys hoops

Crest 69, Kings Mountain 59: Crest reaffirmed its dominance in Big South 3A, withstanding a second half rally by Kings Mountain to take the conference championship.

Up 15 at the break, cold shooting and a reinvigorated Zeke Cannedy allowed the Mountaineers to pull within two of the favored Chargers in the second half. Crest handled its business at the free throw line in the fourth, though, going 12-for-12 to put a bow on another undefeated run through league play.

“That’s probably the first time since game one for us that we shot that bad in a quarter,” said Crest boys basketball coach Brad LeVine. “We had a bad night shooting night, didn’t play all that well but still got to 69 points and won by 10.”

Mari Adams had 22 points in a winning effort for Crest, while Kevin Kollock joined him in double figures with 15. The Chargers have now won 32 of its last 33 games against conference opponents, dating back to a Feb. 7, 2020 win over North Gaston.

Cannedy finished with 25 points for Kings Mountain, while Maddox James contributed 18 in a losing effort.

Southern Piedmont 1A/2A

Boys hoops

Shelby 62, Bessemer City 51: Despite coming away with a 64-60 win over Bessemer City in the teams’ first meeting, Shelby boys basketball coach Aubrey Hollifield was less than satisfied with the Golden Lions’ effort on that January night. Needless to say, he had fewer reasons to be pleased with the result of Shelby’s most recent matchup with the Yellow Jackets, a late rally falling just short in a 67-65 loss.

With experience, comes learning. And if there’s one thing the veteran coach learned from two previous meetings with Bessemer City, it was that Randall Pettus and Keyshawn Adams should not beat Shelby on their own.

“I think (Adams) has 18 3-pointers all year, eight of those were against us. We couldn’t afford to let that happen again,” Hollifield said. “We just wanted to make things tough on him, and make things tough on (Pettus). Our goal was to corral them; especially with Pettus. He could beat us 1-on-1, but if we get two here and two there maybe we could make things tough for him.”

Hollifield’s hunch worked, the Golden Lions making Pettus work for his 22 points on the night while Adams was held scoreless as Shelby picked up a 62-51 win in the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A conference final.

Shelby’s JaKeith Hamilton finished with a game-high 24 points, including five 3-pointers. Drew Hollifield added 13, with Demario Allen contributing 10.

Nazari Smarr was the only other Bessemer City player in double figures with 18.

Shelby is now 16-4, while the Yellow Jackets drop to 20-4 on the season.

Girls hoops

(1) Shelby 61, (3) Bessemer City 30: Shelby (18-2) did much of its damage early, Kate Hollifield (16 points) and Maraja Pass (15 points) scoring in double figures as the Lady Lions ran away with the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A tournament title.

Janiya Adams was the lone Bessemer City (15-9) player in double figures with 11.

Western Foothills 3A

Girls hoops

(1) East Lincoln 50, (2) Hickory 42: Madison Self earned a double-double, leading all scorers with 18 points and bringing down 15 rebounds to help the Lady Mustangs to the Western Foothills 3A title. Ginny Overbay also had 10 points in a winning effort.

For her work, Self was named tournament MVP, joined by teammates Taliyah Thomas and Hailey McFadden on the all-tournament team.

Winners of 15 straight, East Lincoln rolls into the postseason with a 26-1 mark.

Boys hoops

(1) Hickory 58, (2) East Lincoln 53: Drew Bean and Keandre Walker scored 13 points, with Jeremiah Jones adding 11 as the Mustangs fell to Hickory in the Western Foothills 3A title game.

Bean and Jones were named to the Western Foothills 3A all-tournament team. East Lincoln falls to 22-5 on the season.

Catawba Shores 1A/2A

Boys hoops

(1) Lincoln Charter 68, (3) Christ the King 51: J.J. Moore claimed tournament MVP honors, capping things with 18 points and eight assists to lead the Eagles to a Catawba Shores 1A/2A title. Teammates Elijah Burnett and Marcus Farley also scored in double figures with 16 and 14, respectively.

Along with Moore, Burnett and Farley, Kelan Flowers was named to the all-tournament roster.

Girls hoops

(1) Lincoln Charter 65, (3) Langtree Charter 50: Lincoln Charter added another banner to its collection, capping an undefeated run through Catawba Shores 1A/2A with a championship on Friday night.

Kallie Lusk scored a career-high 21 points, Lauren Horton added 17 and Maddie Lusk followed with 10 to lead Lincoln Charter in the conference final.

Metro-8 1A

Girls hoops

Piedmont Community Charter 64, Bradford Prep 48: Three players scored in double figures as Piedmont Community Charter put a bow on a perfect conference season. Kaylee Nolan scored 17 points, with Grace East and Kennedy Williams following with 16 and 12, respectively.

Now 12-5 overall, the Patriots roll into the postseason on a nine-game win streak.

S.C. Class 5A

Boys hoops

Mauldin 52, Clover 41: The Blue Eagles’ season ends in the second round of the S.C. state playoffs at 19-8.

You can reach Joe Hughes at 704-914-8138, email jhughes@gastongazette.com and follow on Twitter @JoeLHughesII.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln team crown conference champions