AHSAA 3A Final Four Preview
With tournament play coming to a close, only four teams remain in the hunt for the Class 3A State Championship title. Those teams are Westminster Christian, Bullock County, Plainview, and Prattville Christian. These four teams will face off in two…
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Continue ReadingWith tournament play coming to a close, only four teams remain in the hunt for the Class 3A State Championship title. Those teams are Westminster Christian, Bullock County, Plainview, and Prattville Christian. These four teams will face off in two games that will be played in Birmingham on February 26th starting at 10:30 am. The winners will move on and face each other in the State Finals game on March 1st at 2:15 pm.
Class 3A
Westminster Christian (26-4) vs. Bullock County (16-12)
How They Got Here:
Westminster: Phil Campbell (70-28), Holly Pond (70-49), Lauderdale (53-39)
Bullock: Randolph County (52-37), Opp (58-46), Slocomb (69-46)
Players to Watch:
Westminster: Austin Leslie and Jayden Landrom are two key players to keep your eye on for Westminster. Leslie put up 11 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 blocks in the Regional Finals win against Lauderdale, and 20 points in the Regional Semi-Final win against Holly Pond. Landrom was able to put up 20 points as well in the 70-44 win over Holly Pond.
Bullock County: Cedric Nicholis and Dontavius Blue are two of the players to watch for Bullock. Nicholis put up 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists during their matchup with Slocomb in the Regional Finals. In the same game, Blue had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and tacked on an extra 7 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks.
Prediction:
Despite a decent amount of losses in their overall record, Bullock County has managed to make it all the way to the Final Four. They have played great basketball in the tournament thus far, but I think this matchup against Westminster is going to be too much for them to handle. Westminster is a good, solid team with an experienced coach. I think Westminster gets the double-digit win over Bullock and advances to the State Championship Game.
Plainview (30-4) vs. Prattville Christian (30-3)
How They Got Here:
Plainview: Saks (93-45), Fultondale (68-53), Piedmont (57-45)
Prattville: Holt (71-34), Mobile Christian (55-46), Thomasville (70-33)
Players to Watch:
Plainview: Haden White and Caden Millican are two of Plainview’s top scorers. In the Regional Semi-Finals game against Fultondale, Millican put up 16 points and 7 rebounds, and he shot 4-5 from behind the three-point line. Another top scorer, White, put up 15 points against Piedmont in the 57-45 Regional Final win for Plainview.
Prattville Christian: BJ Comer and Cooper Meadows are two players who can explode for Prattville Christian and are going to be a key factor in this matchup. Meadows had an impressive stat line in the Regional Finals win, with 21 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Comer had an equally impressive night with 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals. These two players can be a deadly combo if they are both playing a good game.
Prediction:
This one is almost too close to call, but I think Prattville will get the edge over Plainview Tuesday night. Both teams have an impressive record and are playing good basketball, so it really could go either way. However, I think either Comer or Meadows (or both) is going to come out and have a big night for Prattville and help them get the single digit win over Plainview.