North Augusta Boys Win First State Championship With Double OT Win
North Augusta and South Pointe needed two overtimes to settle the AAAA boys state championship.
By Neill Kirkpatrick
Special to the HSSR
Columbia – The best game of championship weekend was the final game of the three day affair as North Augusta and South Pointe needed two overtimes to settle the AAAA boys state championship which North Augusta finally claimed with 64-56 win.
The win was the first for the Yellow Jackets boys team in school history. They joined the girls team to become the first school to win basketball state championships in the same year since the Keenan Raiders won the AAA titles in 2019-20 season.
“I’m still trying to process everything. Two overtimes, both teams left it all on the court,” said North Augusta’s head coach Tony Harrell. “I have senior leaders that have been with me for a long time in Jordan Rouse and Toian Nabriat. I brought them up them up as eighth graders and they said coach we are not going to lose tonight.”
Coach continued, “This is tremendous feeling for our team, our school, our community and for everyone who has put on a Yellow Jackets uniform.”
The Yellow Jackets finished the year at 27-3 and won their final 10-games. Included in that streak was a playoff win over Gray Collegiate 67-59 after they lost twice to them in the regular season.
South Pointe was looking for its second state championship (2021) finished the year at 20-9 and like North Augusta they beat a team they lost to twice during the regular season. The Stallions lost twice to defending boys state AAAA champion Lancaster only to beat them in the upper state final 58-34.
South Pointe head coach Melvin Watson, “It was a tremendous game played by both ball clubs. My hats off to North Augusta they did a great job. Double overtime, I guess we gave the crowd a treat.”
“This is game you hate to see someone loss but they just made a few more plays than we did in the second overtime. They earned it,” coach Watson said. “I’m proud of this team. Hopefully, we can get back here sooner rather than later and our young guys will learn from this experience.”
The final game of the weekend saw both teams feeling each other out. South Pointe led 7-6 after Trinten Stevenson nailed a three from the corner.
North Augusta’s Tre Wright would hit a three to start a 12-3 Yellow Jacket run and the first quarter ended with North Augusta on top 18-10. Rouse led the Yellow Jacket’s with seven points in the quarter while Stevenson had seven for the Stallions.
The second quarter saw NA’s Quh’mareon Webb hit two free throws to give the Yellow Jackets a 10-point lead at 20-10 in the second quarter.
South Pointe would then go on 13-3 run to end the half. The run was started by Benjamin Mina’s three and ended when player of the year candidate Treven Raymon ended it with an old fashion three point play and the teams headed to half tied at 23.
NA outscored SP on the third quarter 16-10 to take a 39-33 lead into the fourth quarter. Webb tallied seven points in the quarter on his way to a team high 21 points. He went 12-14 from the line as he was fouled when he drove to the basket.
SP started the fourth quarter on a 6-2 run as Raymon scored on the inside and then hit a three as the Stallions closed to within 41-39.
Raymon gave SP their first lead since the first quarter (7-6) when he scored driving to the basket to give the Stallions the lead at 44-43. He would give the Stallions a two-point lead at 47-45 before NA Nabriat would put back a rebound to tie the game at 47 and send it into extra time.
Raymon came out in the first OT determined to bring the championship back to Rock Hill as he scored the first four points of the OT giving the Stallions a 51-47 lead.
Down 51-47, Webb hit a basket to cut the lead to 51-49 before NA’s Rouse would score three on a hoop and some harm and the Jacket’s were back on top 52-51.
Landon Hawkins would put the Stallions back on top with a put back at 53-52. Then Nabriat was fouled by Raymon where he hit one of two free throws to tie the game. Raymon got off a runner put went of the rim and we were headed to OT number 2.
In the second overtime the Jackets Nabriat would give them the lead for good as he scored the first basket of over time. The Jackets would increase the lead to five before Stevenson hit his second three of the night to cut the lead to 58-56.
NA’s Webb and Tristan Anderson would finish the game for the Jackets scoring the final six points for the final of 64-56.
Rouse said after the game, “This is amazing. Losing last year losing the state championship game was the worst feeling of my life. I just felt like I had something to prove this year. I got in the gym and worked hard with my brothers and we got the job done.”
Rouse and Nabrait joined Webb in double figures with 17 and 12, respectively. Nabriat also had 12 rebounds to post a double and he also had six blocks in the contest. Anderson and Wright were the other Jackets to put points on the board as they scored 9 and 5 points, respectively.
Raymon scores a game high 22 points and in the fourth quarter and overtime he showed why he is up for player of the year. Stevenson was the other Stallion to score in double figures as he tallied 12 points.
