FAIRMONT — Senior Tylik McCall lit up the scoreboard with 31 points and a 14-2 fourth quarter spurt carried West Bladen to the Southeastern 3A/4A/5A boys’ tournament championship with a 64-55 victory over Fairmont on Friday night.
Coach Travis Pait’s Knights improved to 20-6 and will now await the NCHSAA Playoff Pairings that will be announced Saturday afternoon. West Bladen, the Southeastern Champions, is expected to receive a first-round bye and will probably play at home Thursday.
Putting a damper on the Knights celebration was uncertainty about the health status of senior guard Jackson Pait who went down with a leg injury in the first two minutes and only played seven minutes Friday. “We will get him checked out Saturday,” said Coach Pait.
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A 10-0 third quarter run rallied the Knights from a 37-28 deficit. Jamari Adams-Peterson drained a corner 3-ball and Keonta Hill swished a pair of free throws. Adams-Peterson nailed another corner 3-ball off an assist from Kendell Lessane, who then flipped in a 6-foot runner for a 38-37 West lead at the 3:10 mark.
Hill delivered an assist to Lessane, who hooked in a 4-footer. Adams-Peterson put back a rebound for a 42-41 Knight lead. After a transition lay-up by Fairmont’s Jeremiah Morris, McCall banked in a 6-footer to tie the game and Jaquan Lesane stole the ball and raced for a lay-up and a 46-44 West lead at the break.
McCall muscled in a follow to start the final period and Adams-Peterson buried another corner 3-ball. Lessane tossed in an 8-foot runner and McCall pumped in a 15-foot turnaround.
Lessane hit one free throw and Adams-Peterson grabbed the rebound of his second attempt and fired a pass out to McCall who knocked down a 3-ball and tacked on a free throw for a four-point play and a 60-46 Knight lead at the 4:10 mark.
Josh Townsend, who led the Tornado scoring with 20 points, threw in two baskets and two free throws, but McCall converted an Adams-Peterson assist into a lay-up to keep the margin at 62-51 and Lessane and McCall netted free throws in the final 31 seconds.
“I thought we played bad in the first half,” Coach Pait said. “But I was very proud of the second half. The defense was really good after halftime. Jamari hit some big 3’s, Carnell (Lewis) made some big plays. Justin (Spaulding) and Buddy (Jaquan Lesane) had some big plays.” Lesane had a big block on a lay-up attempt in the final minutes.
Coach Pait continued, “Jackson gave us a huge lift when he came in just to give them someone to worry about besides Tylik. A 20-win season is big, especially against the schedule that we played — Farmville, Hoggard, Landstown.”
McCall connected on 11 of 21 shots from the field and made 7 of 9 free throws for his second consecutive 30-point plus game. He also had seven rebounds and three steals. Adams-Peterson knocked down four 3-point shots and finished with 16 points, five rebounds and two assists.
Lessane contributed eight points, five rebounds and three assists. Hill filled the stat sheet with four points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and three deflections. Demarion Bryant grabbed four rebounds.
The Knights forced 18 Fairmont turnovers but were outrebounded 35-28. West Bladen shot 40% (22-of-54) while Fairmont shot 37% (20-of-54). West made 14 of 25 free throws (56%) while Fairmont hit 11 of 17 (64%).
WEST BLADEN (64) — Jackson Pait 2, Demarion Bryant 1, Keon Whittington, Tylik McCall 31, Kendell Lessane 8, Keonta Hill 4, Jaquan Lesane 2, Jamari Adams-Peterson 16, Carnell Lewis, Isaiah Robinson, Cyncere Jessup, Blake Britt, Justin Spaulding.
FAIRMONT (55) — Ayden Cummings 9, Jeremiah Morris 7, Omarion Carmichael 2, Jaxhon Sealey 5, JayVon Brown 4, Josh Townsend 20, Damarious Jones, Xavion Pittman 6, Tariq Leggett 2.
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