Birmingham, AL – Second-ranked Jacksonville beats No. one Westminster Christian at its defensive grind to win victory in the Golden Eagles second state title
By Joe Medley
John Broom took on the task to Chase McCarty, and Jacksonville faced a stifling defense with a stifling defense on Friday. The Golden Eagles validated themselves as the team that beat their opponents twice in consecutive years during Alabama in Class 4A basketball. Broom scored 20 points to be named the the honor of being the most valuable player during his final game at the high school level The team’s determination was stronger when they Golden Eagles prevailed 51-37 in the Friday’s Class 4A championship game at Birmingham’s Legacy Arena. Jacksonville ended the game 29-6 and was the 3rd team in Calhoun County to win back-to-back state basketball championships. After winning the second and third state titles ever in the program’s history, with two head coaches, the Golden Eagles entered elite territory.
“Back-to-back for them, but it’s the this is the first time I’ve done it,” first-year Jacksonville coach Tres Buzan stated. “It is really satisfying.” Buzan took over in May, after Shane Morrow was relieved of his coaching duties due to unspecified reasons. Buzan was hired to run a team which had recently been awarded its first state championship and was set to let go of one of its most coveted players before the end of his senior year. Cade Phillips, the 6-foot-9 center who came from Westbrook Christian, opted to take the route of a prep school at Link Academy located located in Branson, Mo. “When I was hired at this position and joined Link Academy, we had an assembly of the team at my house during the time of summer.” Buzan said. “We stated that our aim was to return here, looking for another blue map’ … “We declared that we were not trying to defend an individual state championship. We’re a brand new team, therefore, we’re trying to win an overall national championship.”
Broom who signed with South Alabama in the summer of 2016, was the leader of the team that returned which included seniors Caden as well as Cam Johnson core players on the team last year. A sophomore Devin Barksdale continued his emergence at the point guard position, and Ethan Duke gave the Golden Eagles the presence of a lunch-pale on the court. This was enough for the second-ranked Jacksonville to return to Birmingham and defeat Westminster Christian at its game. “I’ll declare this,” Buzan said. “That game was a fight that was a war of words.” Westminster Christian (29-4) was back on defense, and chased Jacksonville’s shooters off the 3-point line, and outrebounded Jacksonville 28-23, which made it tough for Jacksonville’s Golden Eagles to get out in the break.
Jacksonville scored only two fastbreak points, the same with Westminster Christian. It’s a shame that the Golden Eagles would not have one of their most memorable days scoring 100 points, thanks to 3s, transitions and dunks. It’s okay, since all the three balls and dunks that defined their season shook their true heartbeat. “I thought that the score was more an Westminster kind of scores,” Buzan said. “We want to be able to score more and have a fast pace However, they’re extremely well-coached. They’re so proficient at what they do that we knew that it was going to be a bit lower than usual. “We’ve had a locker room packed with scorers, however the one thing that these players have invested in this year is the defensive aspect which is what got this game.” The team’s defensive focus was what won them the game. Read further…]
