Lions lock down McAdams, advance to 1A title game
Mar. 1—JACKSON — Biggersville pieced together a dominant defensive performance to punch their ticket into the Class 1A state championship game.
The Lions handled McAdams 62-30 in Monday's semifinal matchup at the Mississippi Coliseum. Biggersville (23-4) will face Ingomar on Thursday at 3 p.m. It's the Lions' first title game appearance since they won it all in 2013.
"I thought we really, really guarded," said Biggersville head coach Cliff Little. "Our guys were locked in and ready to play."
McAdams found little to no success on the size and athleticism of the Lions' defense. The Bulldogs (13-9) were 11 of 45 (24.4%) from the field, including a 2 of 18 mark from 3-point range.
While locked in on defense, the duo of 6-foot-7 forward Cam Smith and point guard Zae Davis handled things offensively. Smith and Davis combined for 17 first-half points as the Lions held a 26-11 lead at the break.
On the attack
The Lions outscored McAdams 17-4 in the third quarter, beginning the period with back-to-back 3-pointers from Devin Leatherwood. Davis and Smith then went on an 11-0 run before McAdams scored the first field goal of the quarter with 18 seconds left. Biggersville led 43-15 heading into the fourth.
Davis led with 17 points and five assists. Smith added 13 points and five rebounds.
"We just kept attacking," said Smith. "That was our mindset throughout the game and we did a good job of that."
Biggersville shot 25 of 57 (43.8%) from the floor to go just beyond its 61.5 points per game average on the season.
"It was a total team effort today," said Little. "We've got eight guys that we count on. They do anything we ask of them."
Three-Pointers
Turning Point: Down 7-4, Biggersville went on a 13-0 run from the end of the first quarter into the start of the second for a 17-7 lead.
Point Maker: Smith was 4 of 7 from the field and 5 of 6 from the free throw line.
Talking Point: "I have a lot of confidence in this team. We can win it all." — Smith.
