Episcopal second to none


ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT GAZETTE/MELISSA SUE GERRITS 03/14/2014 -Episcopal's Justin Gooseberry eyes the basket while Charleston's Ty Storey reaches to block his shot during their 3A championship game March 15, 2014 in Hot Springs.

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT GAZETTE/MELISSA SUE GERRITS 03/14/2014 -Episcopal's Justin Gooseberry eyes the basket while Charleston's Ty Storey reaches to block his shot during their 3A championship game March 15, 2014 in Hot Springs.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

HOT SPRINGS - Episcopal Collegiate started the season ranked No. 1 in Class 3A, and Mahlon Martin made sure the Wildcats ended the year in the same spot.

The junior guard scored a game-high 21 points Saturday and earned Most Valuable Player honors as the Wildcats overcome a huge size disadvantage to defeat Charleston 62-56 and take home their first state championship at Summit Arena.

“After losing in the championship game last year, we didn’t want to have that same feeling that we had,” said Martin, who made 7 of 8 shots in the game. “We came out a little too excited and nervous because we were anxious to get out there on the court, but we kind of settled down after halftime.

“We were able to come back and play our game, and it was good enough in the end.”

Episcopal (29-3), which lost to Harding Academy in last year’s title game, found itself trailing by as many as eight in the second quarter before storming back just before halftime. The Wildcats regained control midway through the third period but had to stave off a spirited rally by Charleston down the stretch.

Allie Freeman scored 17 points for the Wildcats, who won their final 27 games and went undefeated against Class 3A competition. Kelvin Robinson added 10 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals. Justin Gooseberry chipped in 10 points and eight rebounds.

Matthew Ward scored 20 points and pulled down nine rebounds for Charleston (31-6), which was trying for its first state championship after losing to Earle in the 2012 final. Ty Storey had 18 points and seven rebounds for the Tigers.

“Everybody talked about us and Charleston at the beginning of the year and throughout the year,” Episcopal Coach Micah Marsh said. “I think the finals ended up as it should have been, because I thought we were the two best teams in the state.

“We knew it was going to be a tough matchup.

Charleston is big, they’re physical, but I thought we matched that toughness in the second half to put us over the top.”

The game was called closely throughout, which put both teams in precarious situations. Charleston center Andrew Smith, a 6-7 junior, was whistled for his third foul midway through the first quarter and had to sit for the rest of the half. Robinson, one of Episcopal’s top scorers, picked up his third foul with 5:18 left before the half, and Cori Gooseberry, the Wildcats’ starting center, was charged with his fourth foul late in the second quarter.

“Our plan was to pound it down to Ty, Matthew and Andrew,” Charleston Coach B.J. Ross said. “We’ve got three bigs that we thought could just wear them out, but with the way the game was called it took us out of our game a little bit.”

Marsh was forced to rely on Freeman and Martin to shoulder the scoring load, especially in the first half, and they were up to the task.

The two combined to make 6 of 11 from the floor and scored 10 points apiece in the first half. Martin’s buzzer-beating three-pointer from half-court allowed Episcopal to tie the game at 15-15 at the end of one quarter before a jumper by Ward fueled an 11-0 run that put the Tigers on top, 28-20, with 4:08 remaining in the second quarter.

Episcopal outscored Charleston 9-3 over the final three minutes to trim the Tigers’ lead to 31-29 at halftime.

Martin’s three-pointer with 6:59 left in the third quarter tied it at 33-33, one of eight times the game was tied in the second half. The Wildcats took a 46-43 lead into the fourth quarter, but Charleston surged ahead 49-48 on Ward’s 16-footer with 5:22 remaining. But the junior guard, who scored 41 points in the Tigers’ 66-57 victory over Mayflower in the quarterfinals, was called for his fifth foul at the 4:44 mark, making things that much harder on the Tigers.

“We were right there with them, but losing your bell cow is pretty tough,” Ross said. “These guys are winners. Matthew does a lot of scoring, but when he went out I honestly felt like we still had a chance to win the game.”

Quotebook

“We were right there with them, but losing your bell cow is pretty tough.” Charleston Coach B.J. Ross, on junior guard and leading scorer Matthew Ward, who fouled out with 5:22 remaining

Sports, Pages 25 on 03/16/2014