Woodlawn Prep capped off another memorable season of Wolfpack basketball on Saturday with an appearance in the final four of the MAIS 2A State Tournament, successfully raising the bar for a program that's exceeded expectations each step of the way over its first five years of competition.
Having earned a first-round bye for winning their district tournament, the Wolfpack's playoff run began Feb. 16 with a second-round matchup against the Regents Lions. This was their second straight appearance in the round of eight, and head coach Cliff East said prior to the tournament that one of the Wolfpack's goals was to reach a new level of competition by making it to the final four. They met that goal in a rather impressive fashion, dominating from start to finish in a resounding 64-37 win over the Lions.
Starting out strong defensively was a big key for the Wolfpack in their run through the district tournament, and that was once again the case last week, as they held the Lions to only two points through the first quarter of action. Already boasting an 18-point lead at halftime, Woodlawn Prep outscored its opponent 23-13 through the third quarter, putting the contest well out of reach as the final minutes of competition played out.
Sophomore Cole Sinclair delivered one of his best performances of the season, scoring a game-high 31 points to lead the Wolfpack in victory. Jack Carney chipped in 14 points, followed by Braylon Reed — who played through a nagging ankle injury — with 11 points.
Reed was the Wolfpack's second highest scorer on the season, averaging 16.2 points per game during his sophomore campaign. Knowing he'd be playing through a bit of pain after suffering a high ankle sprain in the district tournament, East said he knew it would be crucial for other players to step up, and he was more than proud of how Sinclair and his teammates answered the call.
"We knew Braylon was going to be less than 100% come game time, so I just kept stressing to our guys that someone else was going to have to step up," East said. "Cole has been an excellent scorer all year for us, but he really just took it to a whole new level."
Offense was harder to come by on Friday in the Wolfpack's final four contest against the Delta Academy Raiders, who held Woodlawn Prep to only 10 points in the first half. Despite a valiant attempt to claw their way back into the game down the stretch, their efforts weren't enough to erase the 14-point deficit, and their hopes of bringing home the state title were brought to an end with a 37-22 loss. Reed led the team with eight points in the contest, followed by Sinclair with seven points and Drayson Patterson with five points.
On Saturday the Wolfpack took on the Union Christian Academy Lions in a contest for third place, with the winner being determined in overtime following an impressive shooting display from both squads. After falling behind 23-13 in the first quarter, the Wolfpack slowly but surely erased the deficit, drawing even with the Lions in the final seconds and sending the game into overtime.
Once again, Sinclair led the charge for Woodlawn Prep, swishing five shots from behind the arc and hitting 10 of 13 free throw attempts in a remarkable 39-point performance. With under 10 seconds remaining in overtime, Sinclair got an opportunity to put the Wolfpack ahead with a mid-range jumper that fell just short of its mark, and the Lions heaved the ball down the court for a layup at the buzzer to defeat Woodlawn Prep 74-72.
Despite the unsavory ending, East said he couldn't have asked for anything more from his players, who gave it all they had and represented their school in a first-class manner from the first game of the season to the last.
"Cole was just unbelievable in that last game, and I know there was no one in that locker room who took the loss harder than he did," he said. "I wanted the win just as badly as they did, but I couldn't be any more proud of the way the whole team competed. Cole was the biggest scorer, but everyone stepped up for us on Saturday. They left it all on the court, and that's really all you can hope for."
The Wolfpack earned quite a few accolades en route to their best playoff run to date. They finished district play undefeated for the second year in a row and brought home the first-place trophy from the district tournament. Sinclair and Carney were both selected to the All State Tournament Team, and Sinclair and Reed were both selected to compete in the Magnolia Sports Association's Rising Juniors All-Star Game in April at East Central Community College.
Unwilling to be complacent, East said his players already have their eyes on an even bigger goal for the 2023-24 season, which he said they've already begun preparations for in hopes to continue taking their game to new heights of success.
"In the locker room after the game, I was telling the guys how proud I was of all the things they'd accomplished over the course of the season," East recalled. "We talked about how our goal at the beginning of the year was to get back to the state tournament and win a game, and we accomplished that. I asked them what their goal would be for next season, and without hesitation, they unanimously answered, 'State championship.'
"With all of the sophomores we have coming back next year, along with one junior, Kaden Williams, I don't think that's an unreasonable goal at all. We're just going to keep working to get better, starting today, and we can't wait for the chance to get back out there next time around and see if we can go even further."
