Saints beat Booneville for back-to-back 3A titles
Mar. 7—JACKSON — Michael Smith is familiar with this sick feeling.
Booneville made it back to the Class 3A boys state championship game only to fall short again.
St. Andrews shot out to a big lead and pulled away for a 59-32 win on Saturday, claiming back-to-back titles, and three in the last four years.
Booneville (23-5) has finished as state runner-up three times over the last 10 seasons.
"The higher you climb the more it hurts when you fall," said Smith. "Everybody will talk about wanting to get to this game and nobody wants to lose it. It hurts like heck to lose this game. It stings you for a long time."
The Saints (22-2) were opportunistic with their chances on offense, shooting 58.1% from the field and 72.7% from 3-point range. Senior guard Rashad Bolden, a four-year starter, led with 23 points, and Jake Dowdell buried four 3-pointers, shooting a perfect 6 of 6 from the field for 16 points.
The lid stayed on the rim for Booneville throughout the game, who shot 34.3% and 21.4% from deep.
"It's not the time of year or the stage to not play your best offensively," Smith said. "Your best is usually required. We just were not that today."
Smith noted St. Andrews' physicality with the Blue Devils' leading scorer Trey McKinney, who led with 11 points. McKinney was just 4 of 15 from the field as the Saints made him a primary focus on defense.
"They were the best team we watched on film," said St. Andrews first year head coach Russell Marsalis. "It kept me up at night because they run such good stuff. Our goal was to keep them under 40, and to come out and keep them around 30, I never thought would happen.
"But we were focused defensively."
Three-Pointers
Turning Point: St. Andrews outscored Booneville 19-4 in the second quarter, ending on a 10-0 run for a 29-13 halftime lead.
Point Maker: Bolden was a perfect 10 of 10 from the free-throw line.
Talking Point: "When I came, nobody knew about St. Andrews. I wanted to put St. Andrews on the map. I feel like three state championships out of the last four years ain't too bad." — Bolden.
