Jacksonville secures second consecutive state championship

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBMA) — Jacksonville had a target on its back in Class 4A all season as the defending state champion but in the final ASWA rankings of the regular season, the Golden Eagles were ranked second. The team ranked ahead of them was the last team standing in their way of back-to-back titles.

No. 1 Westminster Christian gave Jacksonville about as much as it could handle for three quarters but the defending champs showed they still belong on top, running away with the game in the final eight minutes. The Eagles outscored their opponents by 10 points in the fourth quarter, leading to a 51-37 victory in the Class 4A boys basketball state championship game at Legacy Arena.

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Jacksonville (29-6) needed to shoot just 3-of-4 from the field in the fourth quarter, using two of them to open up a double-digit lead for the first time with four minutes left in the game. The team made 13-of-14 attempts from the free throw line in the fourth quarter after missing its only free throw attempt in the first three periods.

John Broom led Jacksonville with 20 points, shooting 6-of-9 from the field and 8-of-9 from the stripe. He got the celebrations started with a dunk just after the final buzzer to send his teammates and Eagles fans into a frenzy.

Caden Johnson scored 13 points while Devin Barksdale knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and finished with 12 points.

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Westminster (29-4) got 14 points five rebounds from Chase McCarty before he fouled out late in the fourth quarter. As a team, the Wildcats shot just 34 percent from the floor and made just 1-of-12 3-point attempts. Westminster made just four field goals in the second half.

Jacksonville's defense also forced 11 turnovers in the game, turning those into nine points.

Broom was named the state tournament MVP and was joined by Barksdale and Johnson on the all-tournament team. McCarty was joined by Westminster teammates Jackson Hammond and Kaden Rickard.