McCallie's David Craig takes a shot over a Tyner defender.
photo by Greg Davick
The Lady Warriors of Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe and the Blue Tornado of McCallie have been crowned champions of the 2021 Best of Preps Basketball Tournament in games played Wednesday night at East Hamilton High School.
Lakeview-FO handled the Meigs County Lady Tigers easily 84-42 to continue their undefeated season. McCallie escaped a roaring Tyner Rams squad after a late comeback fell short, 56-51.
The Lady Warriors looked like the Golden State Warriors against Meigs County.
Lakeview-FO would make 15 total 3-pointers in the contest, one being a half-court before halftime by Princess Simmons.
This Lady Warriors squad is quicker than the Ramones playing Blitzkrieg Bop. One word to sum up this game is blitzkrieg. Lakeview-FO leaped out to an overwhelming 51-25 lead by halftime. Star guard Angel Simmons, Best of Preps MVP, had 20 points in the first half. Coupled with her sister, Princess Simmons, and teammate Christen Collins, the trio combined for 64 total points.
A full-court trap defense was resilient throughout the whole game, never letting up even when the team had a 40-point cushion and caused more turnovers than one could keep up with. The game was like a work of art by the Lady Warriors. It is how every team should play basketball–lightning-quick on offense paired with a suffocating defense and shooters to splash the net from deep.
The chemistry on the hardwood was impeccable. It helps when there are five sets of siblings on the team that brew their magic together.
“We have five groups of siblings: Christen and Christina Collins, Pressley and Piper Piatt, Angel and Princess Simmons, Mercedes and Ziara Thompson, and Star and Skye Alexander,” said Lakeview-FO Head Coach Dewayne Watkins as he methodically counted out each pairing. “It is unique. You will never hear of something like that again.”
The championship adds to an already impressive resume the Lady Warriors are compiling. They are undefeated on the season and 5-0 in their region as they set their crosshairs on reopening regional competition again.
“We are not trying to go undefeated, even though we want to win every game, but we just want to keep getting better. We have Murray County and Ringgold coming up so we cannot falter. After that, we have goals to make a deep run into the playoffs,” said Watkins.
In addition to Simmons, who finished with 28 points, other LFO players named to the All-Tournament team were Christen Collins, Christina Collins and Princess Simmons. Cayden Hennessee and Lawson Talley of Meigs Co., McKenna Hayes of East Hamilton, Cassidy Pawson of Signal Mountain, Boyd Buchanan’s Jalisa Sanders and Notre Dame’s Dayonna Perryman were also tabbed.
McCallie 56, Tyner 51: The Blue Tornado was led by fearsome seven-foot-one center David Craig, while Tyner’s Rodney Henderson was poised for another breakout game in the tournament.
The game started somewhat like the girls’ game. McCallie went on an incredible run that had most of the arena quiet, except for a rowdy Blue Tornado fanatics. A 26-9 run by McCallie went from the opening tipoff to five minutes remaining in the second quarter. The Blue Tornado was more physical, patient, and shooting better than Tyner.
Enter Josh Jackson.
Jackson was able to get the lid off the bucket for the Rams. He provided a spark when they needed it most with three 3-pointers late in the second quarter. Although the lead was not budging much, Tyner was finally finding a rhythm on offense.
In the third quarter, the Rams slowly chipped away at the deficit, taking it from a 14 point deficit down to 10 points. It may not seem like it, but one could tell the energy was shifting in the building. Tyner’s Rodney Henderson made this evident when he sent a hail mary down the court as time expired in the third quarter. Despite a defender in his face, Henderson swished a shot from beyond half court.
The gymnasium was electric now, and that would focus upon each player in the huddles of both teams.
The fourth quarter was an emotional roller coaster. The Rams were knocking down 3-pointers to the sound of the crowd’s “booms!” McCallie was doing just enough to hold their lead, which only sat at four points.
Enter Parker Robinson.
Robinson was as cold as Steve Kerr or Reggie Miller. When the Blue Tornado needed him most, he provided. He banged home a 3-pointer, turned to the crowd, and yelled with emotion spewing out of him. His free throws down the stretch solidified a win as Tyner could not overcome the time on the clock. He would sink four free throws in the closing minute to secure the 56-51 win.
It was a gritty performance by both sides, one fighting from behind while the other was waiting for the final buzzer to sound.
“Tyner has faced multiple games like this and has come back. They are gritty. I am happy for our guys, they played really hard. Our backup point guard was injured in warmups so our rotation was different. Milos (Stijopovic) hit some shots for us when we were stuck and Parker (Robinson) hit big shots down the stretch,” said McCallie Head Coach David Conrady. “This is our first time playing for a champ[ionship this season and hopefully it won’t be our last.”
McCallie’s David Craig was awarded Best of Preps MVP following the game with three other teammates (Stijopovic, Rankin and Claridy) being named all-tournament. The Rams had two selections with Rodney Henderson and Nehemiah Bloodsaw.
GIRLS SUMMARY
MEIGS COUNTY 10 15 12 5 – 42
LAKEVIEW-FO 24 27 19 14 – 84
MEIGS COUNTY (42) – Julia Howard 12, Lawson 7, Carrol 7, Brown 7, Swafford 5, Fitzgerald 2, Schaumburg 1, Krantz 1.
LAKEVIEW-FO (84) – Angel Simmons 28, Christen Collins 27, Christina Collins 10, P. Simmons 9, Cochran 4, Gass 3, Gray-Martin 2.
3-POINT GOALS: Meigs County 2 (Carrol and Swafford); Lakeview-FO 15 (Christen Collins 6, Angel Simmons 4, Princess Simmons 3, Christina Collins 1, Christina Gass 1).
BOYS SUMMARY
McCALLIE SCHOOL 18 13 12 13 – 56
TYNER 6 11 16 18 – 51
McCALLIE (56) – Milos Stijopovic 13, Parker Robinson 12, David Craig 11, Rankin 8, Claridy 6, Elliot 4, Kwasigroch 2.
Tyner (51) – Rodney Henderson 16, Josh Jackson 15, Nehemiah Bloodsaw 14, Williams 2, Sims 2, Fisher 2.
3-POINT GOALS: McCallie 6 (Stijopovic 3, Robinson 2, Rankin); Tyner 7 (Jackson 5, Henderson 2).