Biggersville edges McAdams 45-41 to capture 2024 MHSAA Class 1A Championship
Biggersville High is gonna need a bigger trophy case.
The Lions built a double-digit lead in the first half and held off a late McAdams rally to beat the Bulldogs 45-41 and claimed the MHSAA Boys Class 1A State Championship Thursday night at the Mississippi Coliseum.
It’s the Lion's fifth state title in program history and the first since 2022. Biggersville is the first Mississippi school since Philadelphia High in 1992-1993 to win a football state championship and boys basketball state championship in the same season.
“The 10-point lead didn’t feel safe, and it wasn’t pretty at times and the ball wouldn’t bounce our way,” said Biggersville coach Cliff Little. “We knew those guys weren’t going to quit, and they do really good job, but our guys stayed with it and found a way to win.”
McAdams jumped out to a 7-0 lead to begin the game, but Biggersville cut into the Bulldogs' lead down to 10-8. McAdams held a 15-13 lead at the end of the opening quarter.
The second quarter proved to be the difference, as the Lions outscored the Bulldogs 21-9 behind the play of game MVP Tre Gunn and went into the half ahead 34-24.
McAdams trimmed that back to four, at 34-30, but Biggersville responded and took a 40-33 lead heading to the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs really turned up the heat in the fourth quarter with a quick 8-1 run and tied it at 41-41 on a lay-up by Jamar Teague with 2:39 remaining.
But Jathan Hatch made a free throw with 1:37 left to put the Lions ahead by one, the Lions got a defensive stop and Brooks Seago hit a layup with 54 seconds to go.
Seago put the game away with a free throw in the final seconds.
“Tre and Jathan were big for us tonight attacking the glass and they’ve done that all year. I’m super proud of these guys.” Little said. “Winning state championships is a feeling that never gets old.”
Tre Gunn had 16 points to lead Biggersville.
“In a championship game shots were going to fall and we talked about staying humble and discipline, going down hill and we did a good job of attacking,” Gunn said. “Play defense, get stops and attack that was what won us the game. This one means a lot cause it’s my senior year.”
Tyrick Davis had 16 points to lead McAdams, while Jacquese Greer added 13 points for the Bulldogs (25-7).
“Execution in the first half is what hurt us," McAdams coach Kyesun Jackson said. "They got more transition points than we liked, and more points in the paint. They're well coached and worked really getting down hill because they have bigger size, so we knew it was going to be a problem. Just didn’t execute well enough.”
