#18 Wendell Phillips Academy (Chicago) 73 #10 Beecher 58: Junior Phoenix Childs owned the first half hitting 3 for 3 from three. Junior EJ Horton owned the second half and junior Amari Edwards played well the entire game. Game was close for a half. Both teams were turning the ball over to start the first quarter as nerves took over. Childs had 19 points in the first half. Senior point guard Adyn McGinley had 14 points in first half. Second half started and Phillips went on a 15-3 run as Horton scored on a couple of threes and a couple of driving layups at the rim. Beecher had no answer as Phillips clamped up on defense. Beecher led 15-12 at end of first quarter, Edwards scored on a driving layup to go up 32-31 at half. Then the deciding third quarter and Beecher did not get loser than 9 points. Phillips led 53-39 at end of the third quarter. Phillips makes it to state finals for first time since 1977. They go to 23-9 and will play Williamsville on Thursday at 2pm CST. Beecher ends the best season in their history at 34-1. Won their first sectional title and only their second regional title.
Top performances for Wendell Phillips Academy (Chicago):
Phoenix Childs, 6'4" junior wing: Hit his first 4 three pointers of the game ended with 4/6 from three. Stat line: 24 points 4 rebounds and 3 steals.
EJ Horton, 6'2" junior combo guard: Went crazy in the second half scoring 19 of his 25 points in that period scoring on threes 4/7 for the game, and attacks to the rim 5/10 from two. Added 5 rebounds 4 assists and 2 steals.
Claude Mpouma, 6'6" sophomore forward: Hit the defensive glass with 8 rebounds and protected the paint. Rest of stat line: 4 points 2 assists 1 steal and 1 block.
Amari Edwards, 5'9" junior point guard: Did everything. Scored, passed, put defensive pressure on at the head of the defense. Got deflections, steals, and assisted on threes. Stat line: 10 points 1 rebound 3 assists and 3 steals.
Top performances for Beecher:
Adyn McGinley, 6'0" senior point guard: Did a little bit of everything to keep his career going. Stat line: game high 26 points (9/13 from field, 2/2 from three) 6 rebounds 3 assists and 3 blocks.
Zack Johnson, 6'2" senior combo guard: Ended career with stat line of 12 points 1 rebound 4 assists 4 steals.
Orvin Nesbitt, 6'5" junior wing: Tried to pull big out by shooting some threes but went 0/4. Did everything else well. Stat line: 13 points 8 rebounds 1 assist and 3 blocks.