Windsor Forest fell one game short of its title hopes on Friday, March 11 at the Macon Centreplex. The Knights lost 60-53 to Cross Creek in the GHSA Class 3A championship game, ending the season for head coach Aaron Clark’s team.
It’s the second consecutive state championship for Cross Creek (26-6) and the second in school history. Windsor Forest’s athletics program has never won a team state championship, and Friday was the first time a WF boys basketball team played in the title game.
Savannah’s last GHSA state championship in boys basketball came back in 2015, when Bakari Bryant’s Jenkins Warriors team knocked off Morgan County in Macon.
Windsor had four players score in the first four minutes, as the Knights shot 7-of-10 from the field in the opening stanza and led 18-16 entering the second. It was in the second quarter when the Razorbacks took control of the game. Cross Creek took its first lead of the game with 6:33 remaining in the quarter at 19-18, and head coach Lawrence Kelly’s club outscored Windsor 14-3 in the second to lead 30-21 at the halftime break.
The Knights (23-6) shot 1-of-11 from the field in the second, including an 0-for-6 effort from on three-point attempts. Senior star forward D’Ante Bass scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to record a double-double in his final high school game before heading to Georgetown this summer to play for Patrick Ewing and the Hoyas.
Fellow senior Abasi Scott played well in the loss, scoring 13 points and hauling in seven boards in the loss. Combined, Bass and Scott shot 13-for-17 from the field.
The WF guards combined to shoot 5-of-24 (21%) in the game and Windsor was 2-of-14 from behind the arc after the first quarter.
In the third, Windsor was able to trim the deficit by outscoring CC 14-11, but the Knights failed to take advantage of a poor third quarter shooting performance by the Razorbacks. Windsor attempted just six shots in the quarter, hitting on four of them. Meanwhile, CC got up 14 shots in the quarter and the Razorbacks led 41-35 entering the fourth.
Cross Creek got a career performance from sixth man Ahmad Hunt. The 2-guard poured in 14 points after averaging just 3.2 points on the season. He led the Razorbacks in the scoring category, but four Cross Creek players notched double-figures in the win.
The game was tied at 45-45 with 4:06 left in the game, but Cross Creek never surrendered the lead and pulled away late to clinch the Class 3A title. Windsor Forest’s resume in a four-year run of excellence under Clark will be missing a state championship, but the Knights have built a solid foundation and should be considered one of the premium programs in the 3A classification.
Windsor has made the Final 4 in three of the last four seasons and the Knights have compiled a record of 85-21 (.802) over that time.
WF – 18 - 3 - 14 - 18 – 53
CC – 16 - 14 - 11 - 19 – 60
HALF: CC 30-21.
Photo - Savannah Chatham County School District Atlethic Department
Follow Travis Jaudon Twitter/Instagram @JaudonSports. Email him at travisLjaudon@gmail.com.
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