5A CHAMPIONSHIP GAME CAPSULES 2014

[BarclayAlmanac]

2014 CLASS 5A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
BOYS
FORREST CITY VS JACKSONVILLE
Friday, March 14, 3:30 p.m.
Summit Arena, Hot Springs

FORREST CITY MUSTANGS (23-4)
Head coach: Dwight Lofton
State championships: (0) none
Road to the Summit: Forrest City beat Alma in overtime in the first round of the state tournament before beating Little Rock McClellan and Pulaski Academy
Fearless Facts: Forrest City is playing in its fifth final in five different decades but has never won a championship finishing as runner-up in 2007, 1980, 1973 and 1960. ... Forrest City breezed to the 5A-East title, going 14-0 and winning its games by an average of 24.2 points per game. ... Trey Thompson scored 59 points in three state tournament games at Alma and sat out three quarters of the semifinal win against Pulaski Academy with concussion symptoms. ... Sophomore guard Robert Glasper scored 41 points in the three games.

JACKSONVILLE RED DEVILS (26-4)
Head coach: Victor Joyner
State championships: (2) 2013, 2009
Road to the Summit: Jacksonville beat Hope, Morrilton and Harrison by a combined score of 206-155 or 17 points per game
Fearless Facts: Jacksonville is the defending state champion, beating Alma for last year's title. ... Jacksonville is playing in its fourth championship game. ... Jacksonville put up five quarters of at least 20 points out of 12 quarters played in the state tournament at Alma. ... Devin Campbell scored 54 points in three state tournament games at Alma. ... Joyner is in his 9th season at Jacksonville.  ... If the Red Devils win the championship, they will finish with exactly the same record as last year's championship team.


2014 CLASS 5A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
GIRLS
PARAGOULD VS HUNTSVILLE
Saturday, March 15, 6 p.m.

PARAGOULD LADY RAMS (22-5)
Head coach: Jay Cook
State championships: (1) 1994
Road to the Summit: Paragould beat Alma and Jacksonville by a combined 134-78 before beating Vilonia in the semifinals
Fearless Facts: The Paragould Lady Rams, formerly the Paragould Lady Bulldogs won the state title in 1994 as the Ridgecrest Lady Rams under Kevin Gill. ... To make it even sweeter, the Lady Rams defeated neighboring rival Greene County Tech, 40-34, in overtime for the state title in 1994. ... Those two teams also met in the 1993 state championship game with Greene County Tech winning 46-36. ... Paragould coasted through the 5A-East with a 14-0 record, winning its league games by an average of 18.3 points per game. ... Sydney Layrock scored 49 points in the state tournament at Alma, including 21-point outings in the second round and the semifinals. ... The semifinal was a battle of two outright conference champions.

HUNTSVILLE EAGLES (21-7)
Head coach: Charlie Berry
State championships: (2) 2008, 1997
Road to the Summit: Huntsville beat Greene County Tech, Pulaski Academy and Hot Springs in the state tournament
Fearless Facts: Huntsville is playing in its fourth final. ... In the state tournament at Alma, Huntsville had to beat two conference champions to get to the championship game, downing 5A-Central champion Pulaski Academy, 58-48, in the second round and 5A-South champion Hot Springs, 56-50, in the semifinals. ... Vanessa Burgess scored 69 points in three state tournament games at Alma, including 24 in the second round win and 26 in the semifinal. ... Huntsville did not allow more than 15 points in any quarter in the state tournament. ... Huntsville will move to Class 4A next season. ... Charlie Berry, who will turn 80 in October, is a 1952 graduate of Huntsville and began coaching boys and girls at his alma mater in the fall of 1968 before coaching just the girls in 1975 when the girls program began at the school. ... Berry is 1,323-557 and has coached in 1,880 games.