There is always something exciting about the final day of an event that is of high caliber like the Battle @ The Villages. Momentum builds throughout the day and the title game is always played with a high level of intensity.
Seventh-Place Game: Concord (NC) Academy vs. Cummings (GA) West Forsyth
Both schools had suffered two losses apiece to quality opponents and neither one wanted to finish 0-3 on their trip to the Sunshine State. It was a slow start for both teams as the score was only 4-3 in favor of West Forsyth after the first four minutes. West Forsyth held a slight lead most of the way until Concord tied the score at 11-11. Concord couldn’t sustain that momentum and West Forsyth led 16-11 after one period of play. That five-point margin was fairly consistent for much of the second quarter. With three minutes remining in the half, Forsyth reeled of five unanswered points to go up by ten, forcing a Concord timeout. During the run, Forsyth hit some threes and Concord struggled with turnovers. At the break, Forsyth led by a dozen, 34-22.
Forsyth continued to hold a multi-possession lead in the third quarter and was up 39-31 with four minutes remaining in the period. At that point, momentum shifted and Concord finished the third with a 10-1 run to lead 41-40 entering the fourth quarter. The break didn’t help Forsyth as they struggled against the extended pressure of Concord. The score was 50-42 in favor of Concord midway thru the final period. Forsyth was unable to get back into the contest and West Forsyth takes home a win by the score of 61-52.
Sean Birmingham, a 6’7 senior and Indiana State signee, led Concord with 19 points. Alek Kornacki, a 6’10 junior, added 15 points.
Will Moore, a 6’6 senior and Marshall signee, led West Forsyth with 14 points while both 6’6 seniors Sam Maynard and Chase Damerell each added 12 points.
Fifth-Place Game: Park Hills (KY) Covington Catholic vs. The Villages Charter
Covington Catholic has made multiple trips to The Battle and always brings an exciting style of play as well as a lot of fan support. The Villages come into the game without super sophomore Chris Washington, who rolled an ankle in the team’s win the previous night.
Not sure Washington’s presence would have helped. Covington got on an early roll, leading 9-0 with 5:30 left in the quarter and forcing a Villages timeout. The fortunes of neither team changed with that stoppage in play. The Villages finally got on the board but after one period Covington Catholic was up big, 21-7. The Villages had a bit more offensive success in the second quarter but was unable to keep the Covington Catholic lead from growing. At the break, Covington Catholic had doubled-up the host school, 38-19.
The two teams actually played somewhat evenly in the third period. Still, Covington Catholic’s lead remained formidable at 58-38 with one period left to play. To The Villages credit, the young team didn’t lay down and quit. They scrapped and clawed their way to a more modest deficit, 63-48, with four minutes left to play. It looked like The Villages might get the margin down below double-digits with under a minute to go but were unable to do so. Covington Catholic heads back to the Bluegrass State with a 2-1 mark after winning this one 70-56.
Caden Miller, a 6’9 senior, led Covington Catholic with 19 points. Athens McGillis, a 5’11 sophomore also tallied 19 points while Cash Harney, another 5’11 sophomore, scored 12 points.
For The Villages, Ben Koubek, a 6’3 senior, led the team with 11 points.
Third-Place Game: Chicago (IL) De La Salle vs. Tallahassee FSU School
Early on, it looked like De La Salle was going to win this contest with ease. The Meteors led 16-7 with 3:30 left in the first quarter, forcing an FSU School (a/k/a Florida High) timeout. De La Salle continued to roll after that break and led 23-11 after a first period that simply found De La Salle making shots and Florida High missing them. Things got MUCH better for FSU in the second quarter. Down 28-19 at the four-minute mark, FSU got back into the game with a 12-2 run that saw them take a 31-30 lead with twenty-five seconds left in the period. De La Salle connected on a three just before the halftime horn to take a 33-31 lead into the locker room.
It took just a few seconds for FSU to tie the game at 33-33 out of the break. Florida High continued to find success on the offensive end and with four minutes left in the third led 44-39. De La Salle adjusted and went on a 10-4 run, grabbing a 49-48 lead with forty-three seconds left in the quarter and forcing a Florida High timeout. Each team scored a basket before the horn and De La Salle held a 51-50 lead with one more quarter remaining. Moving deep into the final period, Florida High hit a three with 1:30 remaining to get to within a point, 62-61. The Seminoles caught a break as De La Salle turned the ball over on its next possession with 1:10 left. They couldn’t capitalize and after a miss, De La Salle scored on a drive to the hoop with forty-five seconds left to push their advantage to three points. Florida High had a good look at a three with fifteen seconds left, but it was off target. De La Salle secured the rebound and FSU was forced to foul. Both free throws were made to push the lead to 66-61 in favor of De La Salle. Florida High was fouled with one second left on an offensive rebound. One of two foul shots were made and the Meteors head back to Chicago with a 66-62 win.
De La Salle got a big performance from 6’4 senior Richard Lindsey with 32 points. Fellow senior Tavariyuan Williams, 6’5, added 18 points.
For FSU School, 6’2 senior T.J. Baker had 16 points while 6’6 senior Dakota Morris contributed 12 points.
Championship Game: Orlando Olympia vs. Miami Norland
We have to admit that we were hoping for this matchup somewhere along the way of this event. Both are well-coached teams with exciting individual talents. What we got was one of the better games of the season.
Both teams were operating at an efficient level and midway thru the first quarter Olympia led by just one, 12-11. The Titans of Olympia then went on a 10-0 blitz, five of those coming from 6’4 senior Kaiden White and four from 6’6 senior Kameren Wright. The Vikings of Norland responded with a run of their own but after one quarter of play, Olympia held a 26-18 advantage.
That advantage didn’t last long. Norland made adjustments to Olympia’s zone and went on a 10-0 run to start the second quarter. With 5:25 showing on the clock, the Vikings had a 28-26 lead and the Titans called a timeout. Olympia hit a three out of that break to retake the lead and led by four, 32-28, midway thru the period. The Titans would stay on top the rest of the way and led 37-32 at the break.
Norland scored five straight in the first minute and a half of play in the third quarter to tie the game at 37-37. Wright of Olympia then hit a three and had a steal and score to put the Titans back on top. Olympia led by two, 44-42 midway thru the third period and by four, 49-45 with one quarter remaining.
Norland finally knotted the score in the fourth quarter at 51-51 with just under six minutes to play. Moving deeper into the period, Norland led 58-57 with 1:49 to play and Olympia took a timeout. Norland hit one of two free throws on their next possession for a two-point lead but Olympia knocks down a three with one minute to play to grab a 60-59 advantage. Norland gets the ball inside and looked like it might retake the lead with thirty seconds remaining. However, an offensive charge is called on the Norland player, turning the ball over to Olympia. Norland was now forced to foul, and Olympia hit two free throws to extend their lead to 62-59. Norland missed on a three to tie the game with eighteen seconds remaining. Olympia hit one of two free throws. Norland hits a quick two to draw within two, 63-61 with ten seconds remaining. Olympia hits two free throws with eight seconds remaining, making it a two-possession game. The Vikings turn the ball over and Olympia claims the crown of the tenth annual Battle @ The Villages by the score of 65-61.
Wrigth of Olympia led the team with 20 points. Vophcy Prophet, a 6’4 senior, was close behind with 19 points. White, despite foul trouble, finished with 13 points.
Norland was led by 6’6 senior and Missouri signee Marcus Allen with 19 points while 6’6 senior and Presbyterian signee Tristan Wilson finished with 13 points and 6’5 senior Caleb Clarke added 12 points.