The Alexander City Outlook

Mission accomplished

It was not a typical performance by Edward Bell in the AHSAA Class 1A State Championship game, but it was a night the Bears and the town of Camp Hill will never forget.

Edward Bell outscored J.F. Shields 6-5 in overtime, withstanding a last-second possession by the Panthers, to win 66-65 and claim the school’s first ever state title on Thursday at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex Arena.

“It’s been a miracle, miracle, miracle year,” said Bear head coach Mitch Joiner, who led Edward Bell to a final record of 27-2 in his first season on the sidelines. “I wanted to finish it right. It completes the journey. We’ve come a long way from nowhere, slapout Alabama. We whooped a lot of people to get here and had to prove ourselves.

“I’ll love these guys forever. We’ll be together in our hearts and minds forever.”

With 1:59 left in overtime, J.F. Shields took a 63-62 lead after two free throws from Jeterious Johnson. The Bears answered with a perfect pick and roll, as Damien Carr got a screen from Armis Holloway and then fed the senior forward for a lay-up with 1:23 to go to regain the advantage.

After two missed Panther field goals, Bear guard Eddie Webb got behind the defense, and teammate Jamie Edwards found him for an easy two with 54 seconds to go.

Carlos Castophney’s jumper on the next Shields possession cut the lead to one. On the ensuing possession, Edward Bell held the ball until six seconds showed on the clock and called a timeout.

However, the Bears threw away the inbounds pass, giving the Panthers a chance to win. Shields never got a shot off, though, as a pass bounced off the hands of a player underneath the goal.

Edward Bell inbounded the ball to Carr, and time expired, igniting a celebration from the heavily partisan Bear crowd.

After both teams went into the locker room tied at 31-apeice, the Panthers came out and controlled much of the third quarter. The Bears held the lead once, following one of Carr’s four 3-pointers with 3:47 to go, but Shields responded with a 3-pointer and two straight lay-ups to go up by six with 1:26 on the clock. Edward Bell’s Cobe Bowens scored in the paint as time ran out in the period to slice his team’s deficit to four heading into the final quarter.

The deficit was quickly erased with two straight shots by Holloway in the fourth, though the Panthers pulled back ahead by four with 5:51 to go on a Travis Ollie free throw.

The Bears then went on 10-2 run, sparked by six points from Edwards and four from Carr to go up 60-54 with 2:55 left. But, Shields was able to tie the game with 1:37 to go on a Christopher Hill bucket.

Both teams exchanged misses, and the Bears found themselves with the ball and 48 seconds to play. After his team called three timeouts, Holloway missed a shot as time expired to send the game into OT.

Shields led 19-12 at the end of the first quarter.

Carr was 8 of 29 from the field for 24 points to earn co-MVP honors, along with Shields’ Johnson, who scored 27.

“I just wasn’t hitting, but my teammates stepped up and made big shots and I thank them for that,” Carr said.

“We’ve got great fans that support us and make us better,” he added.

Edwards took advantage of the swarming defense Shields played on Carr.

“I saw they were double-teaming Damien, so I had to step it up,” said Edwards, who scored 10 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter. “I was playing like a big man; it felt like I had wings on my back.”

Holloway closed with a doiuble-double, 13 points and 12 rebounds. Bowens had 10 boards and eight points for the Bears, who were an uncharacteristic 28 of 86 from the field and 4 of 30 from 3-point land.

Edward Bell helped its cause tremendously on the glass, hauling down 30 offensive rebounds. The Bears also forced 21 turnovers and committed just 10.

The state championship is first one for Edward Bell in any sport.