By JIM WALKER

Tribune Sports Editor

 

JACKSON — The two-minute warning turned out to be a wake-up call for the South Point Pointers.

After squandering an 18-point lead in the first half, the Pointers used a 13-2 run down the stretch to edge the Rock Hill Redmen 56-51 Monday in the Division III sectional tournament.

“After the first quarter, we didn’t play well except for the last two minutes of the game,” said Pointers’ coach Chris Barnes.

“We started to run the offense right. We flashed high and we hit the open man under the basket. We told them it was there, we just had to execute it and we did at the end.”

With the win the Pointers (11-10) will play top-seeded Chesapeake at 6 p.m. Friday in the sectional finals.

Austin Jeffreys scored 25 points and had 6 rebounds for the Pointers. Brandon Barnes had 11 points and 4 assists with Josh Payne adding 12 points and 10 rebounds.

“Jeffreys played well and Payne did a nice job getting open at the end and hitting the boards,” said coach Barnes.

Rock Hill (8-13) was led by Will McCollister with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Trey Wilds had 11 points, 3 assists and 4 steals while Andy Knipp had 11 rebounds and 9 points and Drew Kidd added 8 points.

“We used so much energy to get back in the game we didn’t have it at the end,” said Rock Hill coach Bob Wilds. “You can’t spot any team a 24-6 lead. We played hard and battled, we just missed too many easy shots.”

The Redmen were only 18 of 59 from the field for 30.5 percent.

South Point forced seven turnovers and led 13-4 at the end of the first quarter. The lead reach 24-6 on a steal by Tre Campbell who fed Jeffreys for a layup at the 5:23 mark.

But the Redmen scored 13 unanswered points that included 4 points by Austin Collins and trifectas from Kidd and Wilds.

Barnes hit a 3-pointer with 1:13 left in the half to put the Pointers up 30-22 at the break.

The Redmen came out strong to start the second half by outscoring the Pointers 12-3. A layup by Evan Morris at the 2:33 mark gave Rock Hill its first lead at 34-33.

Wilds hit a 3-pointer before the end of the quarter and it was 3-37 heading into the final quarter.

McCollister’s layup with 4:03 left put Rock Hil ahead 45-42, but Kurt Adams drained a triple for the Pointers to tie the game. A layup by Jeffreys at the 2:36 mark began a 10-2 surge that put the Pointers up 55-47 with 18 seconds to go.

Wilds made a layup and two foul shots with five seconds left, but Barnes free throw a second later settled the issue.

The Pointers won all three meetings this season in close games. They won the two regular season games 54-51 and 62-58.

Rock Hill 4 18 15 14 = 51

South Point 13 17 7 19 = 56

ROCK HILL (8-13): Drew Kidd 0 2 2-2 8, Will McCollister 5 1 2-2 15, Trey Wilds 1 2 3-5 11, Jared Bruce 0 0 0-0 0, Andy Knipp 4 0 1-2 9, Laden Delawder 0 0 0-0 0, Evan Morris 2 0 0-0 4, Austin Collins 1 0 2-3 4. Totals:18-59 10-14 51. 3-point goals: 5-23. Rebounds: 17-29=46 (McCollister 14, Knipp 11, Collins 7). Team rebounds: 3. Assists: 11 (Wilds 3) Steals: 4 (Wilds 3). Turnovers: 14. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: None.

SOUTH POINT (11-10): Austin Jeffreys 6 3 4-6 25, Tre Campbell 1 0 0-0 2, Austin Majher 0 0 0-0 0, Josh Payne 6 0 0-0 12, Brandon Barnes 2 2 1-3 11, Kurt Adams 0 2 0-0 6, Brandon Boggs 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 22-57 5-9 56. 3-point goals: 7-21. Rebounds: 10-24=34 (Payne 10, Jeffreys 6). Team rebounds: 5. Assists: 10 (Barnes 4, Campbell 3). Steals: 6 (Campbell 2). Turnovers: 11. Fouls: 14. Fouled out: None.