Release Date:12/29/2007
News Title: Wesleyan Boys and girls sweep Deep South Classic Championships


The Wesleyan boys and girls teams swept the Deep South Classic winning both the boys and girls championships at South Gwinnett High Scool Saturday afternoon.

Howard Thompkins led the Wesleyan Wolves to their first Deep South Classic boys' championship beating the Collins Hill Eagles 72-52.

The 6-foot-9 Georgia signee scored 120 points in four games as Wesleyan won the championship in the 17th annual high school basketball tournament.

Thompkins, working inside and out, missed just two shots Saturday in the 72-52 victory over Collins Hill at South Gwinnett, scoring all but two of his 28 points when the game was still in question. Thompkins was 8-for-10 from inside the arc and 2-for-2 on 3-pointers.

Thompkins, who also finished 6-for-7 at the foul line, had seven points in the first quarter as Wesleyan jumped to an 18-10 lead and 19 by halftime. He had 26 by the end of the third quarter, when the Wolves led 54-38.

Wesleyan is 9-2, with the two losses coming by a combined six points.

Collins Hill (12-4) was hoping to at least stay close with the Wolves, but it didn't happen.

Tanner Smith a Clemson signeehad, had 18 points and joined Thompkins on the all-tournament team.

Wesleyan also got solid contributions from seniors Dillon McLaughlin and Erik Strong, and sophomore Zac Johnston against Collins Hill. McLaughlin had 11 points, Johnston eight and Strong seven.

Thompkins, of course, did more than just score in leading Wesleyan to the title. He had eight rebounds, two blocks, two assists and two steals in the title game.

Like Wesleyan, Collins Hill landed two players on the all-tournament team. Jeremy Olsen, a 6-foot-10 junior, scored 15 in the championship game, while senior guard Andrew Anderson had 13 points.

The Eagles down 35-30 at halftime were outscored 19-8 in the third quarter.

In the girls' championship there was a lot more drama and excitment at the end. With less than a minute to play in regulation of the girls finals of the 17th annual Deep South Basketball Classic, it looked as if Wesleyan was about to lose a battle of attrition with Class AAAAA power Marietta.

But the Wolves overcame as much as a six-point deficit in that time - including a five-point hole with less than 15 seconds left - to force overtime on Grace Leah Baughn's layup with five seconds on the clock.

And the freshman added half of her 10 points on the day in the extra frame to help Wesleyan escape with an improbable 69-66 victory Saturday at South Gwinnett in a battle of two of Georgia's top teams.

The Wesleyan girls became repeat champions of the Deep South Classic having won the title previosuly in 2004.

However in the 2007 final a lot of defensive intensity is what pulled Wesleyan through against a Marietta (12-1) team ranked No. 2 in Class AAAAA in the GSWA's preseason poll despite trailing 57-51 after two Brittany White free throws with 58.5 seconds left in regulation, and still trailing 57-52 as the clock ran down.

To make matters worse, 6-foot-3 junior - and eventual tournament Most Valuable Player - Anne Marie Armstrong had fouled out, which looked like it would more than offset three Marietta starters who were also sent to the bench with five fouls.

But two youngsters stepped to the forefront to give Wesleyan a fighting chance.

First, sophomore Erin Hall slipped past Marietta's Christie Leverette for an offensive rebound and hit the putback and got fouled.

That not only made Leverette the fourth Blue Devils starter to foul out, but the ensuing free throw pulled the Wolves to within 57-55 with 10.6 seconds left.

Hall then intercepted the ensuing inbound pass and dribbled into the lane before dishing off to Baughn, and the 6-0 freshman sank the layup with five seconds left, and Marietta could not inbound the ball again before the clock ran out, sending the game into overtime.

Wesleyan then had to fight from behind again in the extra period as Jaquaila Wynn - who posted game highs of 20 points and 15 rebounds - completed a three-point play to put Marietta back in front 60-57 with 3:29 left.

But once again, Baughn came through just 20 seconds later. This time, she ran around a screen and squared up from the right wing before burying a 3-pointer that pulled the Wolves even again at 60-all.

After Wesleyan forced another turnover from Marietta - one of 14 by the Blue Devils in the fourth quarter and overtime - Judean Hanks gave the Wolves the lead at 63-60 with her 3-pointer from the right wing with 2:15 to play.

But they weren't out of the woods yet, even after Alysia McKenzie's jumper from the lane gave Wesleyan its biggest lead of the game at 65-60 with 1:29 left.

Jumpers by White and Ari'Elle Durham pulled Marietta back to within 65-64 with 39 seconds remaining.

But two free throws each by Hanks and Baughn helped seal the game for Wesleyan.

Armstrong and Hall each finished with 19 points to lead Wesleyan and both were named to the All-Tournament team. Armstrong also posted team highs of nine rebounds and four blocked shots before fouling out.