Bucs beat Parsons in ACCC/Region XXII finals

TUSCALOOSA — North No. 4 seed Snead State's run of upsets in the men's ACCC/Region XXII Basketball Tournament ended Friday night, as the Parsons fell to North No. 1 seed and host Shelton State 72-68 in the championship game at the Umphrey Center.

The Parsons, who finished 20-12, toppled South No. 1 seed Wallace-Selma in the quarterfinals and North No. 2 seed Bevill State in the semifinals to reach the finals for the second time in three years.

In four seasons as head coach, Jeremiah Patterson has guided the Parsons to the ACCC/Region XXII semifinals in 2017, the tournament championship in 2018, the quarterfinals in 2019 and a runner-up finish this year.

The Parsons battled throughout the night but ultimately couldn't overcome their poor shooting, as they converted only 31% of their field goals. They outrebounded a taller Shelton State squad 48-36.

The Bucs (28-5) made 49.1% of their field goals and put three players in double figures, led by Willie Johnson, who poured in 26 points. Tournament most valuable player Anquaevious Pollard and Khalil Johnson each netted 17, with Johnson knocking down 5-of-9 3-pointers.

"We went through a spell where we couldn't make shots," Patterson said. "I remember we were down four and we were battling, and we got three shots in a possession and missed them all and then got fouled. We go to the line and miss free throws by a good free-throw shooter, and we rebound that and miss like three more shots.

"Our guys played so dang hard. They have nothing to be ashamed of. That's a heck of a team right there. All those Shelton guys are high-level players.

"You look at the size of their team, they start a 6-10, a 6-8 and a 6-8, and then they've got guards who can just really score. Our guys just competed their butts off and had a chance."

The Parsons trailed 10-3 in the first half before Gerald Gray Jr.'s hot shooting from beyond the 3-point arc propelled them into the lead.

Gray hit three consecutive treys, two of them from downtown Tuscaloosa, to give Snead State a 26-22 margin with 4:26 remaining.

Shelton State rallied and reclaimed the lead at 27-26, but DJ Goodmon's 3 put the Parsons in front 29-27 with 2:22 left.

The Bucs scored the last five points of the half to grab a 32-29 advantage at intermission.

Goodmon buried a pair of 3s in the opening minute of the second half, propelling the Parsons to a 35-32 lead. Shelton State answered with two treys from Khalil Johnson, with the second putting the Bucs up 38-37.

Jason King's three-point play, followed by another 3 from Goodmon, gave the Parsons a 43-38 lead — their largest of the game — at the 16:51 mark of the second half.

The Bucs answered with an 11-0 run, seizing the lead for good. The run pushed their advantage to 49-43 before Gray's 3 ended a 4:29 scoring drought for the Parsons.

Gray hit two free throws, cutting it to 49-48 with 11:41 remaining, but Shelton State answered with another 11-0 run. Willie Johnson netted nine points in the surge, which sent the Bucs to a 60-48 cushion with 7:21 left.

"We couldn't keep 12 [Willie Johnson] in front of us," Patterson said. "Not only was he beating us off the dribble, but he was finishing everything and breaking down the whole defense.

"We even tried to switch to a 1-3-1 [zone] to try and contain him, but then No. 24 [Khalil Johnson] hits a 3. That's one of the reasons we don't play a zone against this team, because they've got so many guys who can shoot it."

The Parsons rallied down the stretch, slicing their deficit to 70-65 on Goodmon's trey with 42.7 seconds remaining.

Shelton State committed a turnover with 31.2 seconds on the clock. The Bucs denied Snead State a 3, but they fouled Jeric Packer on a two-point shot with 19.1 seconds to go. Packer missed both free throws.

The Bucs made two free throws in the final 16 seconds, extending their lead to 72-65. At the final buzzer, Goodmon nailed a 3 from in front of the Parsons' bench.

Gray hit 5-of-8 treys and paced Snead State with 25 points. Goodmon converted 6-of-13 triples and closed with 20 points.

Ralph Barnett and Packer netted eight each and King seven.

Mark Wilcox contributed nine rebounds and three steals, and King collected nine boards and five assists. Barnett cleared seven rebounds and Gray six.

Goodmon, King and Gray represented the Parsons on the all-tournament team.

Article By: Shannon J. Allen, The Sand Mountain Reporter

Article Link: http://www.sandmountainreporter.com/free_share/article_fbf46aaa-623d-11ea-8955-ef92c7fdeca2.html

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