St. Stanislaus wins Class 3A Basketball State Championship!
The Mississippi Coliseum was filled with black red and white on Saturday as the St. Stanislaus Rock-A-Chaws took on the Quitman Panthers for the Class 3A State Championship title. The Rocks were on fire from the jump, scoring eights points without allowing a basket forcing Quitman to call timeout. They remained dominant with a 18-12 first period and improving to 32-22 at halftime.
The third period is when the crowd went wild as senior Max Baria slammed two down for back to back dunks. He simply couldn’t be stopped and was lights out like always. His fellow senior and future Jones teammate Alan Gilliam was head strong all four periods, making shots from all over the court. Junior Jason Forte was a force in the paint, making layups left and right and putting back shots that were missed immediately. Junior Point Guard Rafael Cohen controlled the momentum, placement, and gave every play every ounce of effort and heart he had.
With those four and many more, the St. Stanislaus Rock-A-Chaws are your Class 3A State Champions with a final score of 49-36! This is the first time SSC has brought home the Gold Ball in 15 years, which is when Head Coach Daniel Grieves played for the red and black. Rafael Cohen would go on to be named the Most Valuable Player with 22 points. Coach Grieves, Cohen, Baria and Gilliam told WXXV what this moment means to them. You can hear their responses in the video above.
What an incredible week for coast basketball, and an even better week to be a rock! Congratulations again to your Class 3A State Champions, the St. Stanislaus Rock-A-Chaws!
