Chipley rolls over Hawthorne for Class 1A boys championship

LAKELAND — For the second time in the past four seasons, the Chipley Tigers are Class 1A state champions.

After dispatching Malone 85-66 in Tuesday’s semifinal, the Tigers destroyed Hawthorne 69-40 Wednesday to take the title in a game that wasn’t even as close as the final score indicates.

Trent Forrest finished with 26 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists to lead Chipley (28-3), with Tyrome Sharpe adding 14 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, and Justin Campbell 14 points.

--- SOCIAL MEDIA: TWITTER REACTION TO THE WIN»»

--- PHOTOS: MORE FROM THE GAME»»

Devin Lawrence scored 16 points to lead the Hornets, who scored 22 of their 40 points in the fourth quarter when the clock was running and the game was well in hand for the Tigers.

The game was essentially over at halftime, with Chipley leading 47-13 after a remarkable 16 minutes of basketball.

Chipley scored the first seven points of the game on a bucket and two free throws by Campbell followed by a 3-pointer in transition by Forrest off of a nice pass from Sharpe.

A baseline jumper by Daniel Floyd and a beautiful spinning baseline layup by Forrest gave the Tigers their first double digit lead at 16-6 with a minute left in the first quarter.

Forrest added a straightaway pull-up jumper at the buzzer to make it 21-8, and the Tigers continued to pour it on in the second quarter.

Sharpe started it off with a beautiful lob pass to Forrest for a dunk, with Campbell scoring inside and Sharpe driving coast to coast for two more to make it 27-8.

A minute later,  Sharpe again took the ball from end to end and finished with contact for an old-fashioned three-point play to put the Tigers up 22 just 11 minutes into the game.

The senior point guard Sharpe continued to own the second quarter by knocking in consecutive deep 3-pointers to put Chipley up 25, then dished to Campbell for another bucket to give the Tigers a 40-13 lead with 2:53 to half.

Forrest made a great athletic play to steal a long inbound pass into the backcourt and scored  again a minute later, with Forrest adding two free throws, and Adrian Sims knocking in a 3-pointer with 40 seconds to go to put an exclamation point on the half. 

The second half was a mere formality for the Tigers, though Forrest continued to put on a show for the large contingent of Chipley fans.

Forrest converted a three-point play after a bank shot following a nice spin move in the lane, then made a great no-look pass to Floyd for another bucket inside to make it 52-15.

After hitting two free throws, Forrest added two more buckets and made another nice dish to Campbell for two more to put the Tigers up 39 late in the third.

For the two games in Lakeland, Forrest averaged 32.5 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists on 58 percent shooting from the field.

--- SOCIAL MEDIA: TWITTER REACTION TO THE WIN»»

--- PHOTOS: MORE FROM THE GAME»»

The game was a rematch of the 2012 title game that Chipley won 71-48. With Wednesday’s win, Chipley became the first program to win multiple 1A state titles since the move to the “rural” classification in 2011.

The Tigers will be the pick of many to make it three titles next season thanks to four returning starters, including Forrest and Campbell.

Among Chipley’s starters, only Sharpe graduates. Sharep is also the only Tigers player who was on the 2012 championship team.

Hawthorne’s season ended with a record of 28-3.

• CHIPLEY (69)
• Sims 2 0-0 6, Sharpe 5 1-1 14, Forrest 10 5-5 26, Spencer 0 0-0 0, Floyd 2 0-0 4, Rowell 1 0-0 3, Carmichael 0 0-0 0, Thurman 0 0-0 0, Campbell 6 2-2 14, Brysun 0 0-0 0, Stewart 1 0-0 2, Gustason 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 8-8 69.
• HAWTHORNE (40)
• Williams 1 0-0 2, Bradley 4 0-0 8, McKinnon 1 0-0 3, Douglas 0 0-0 0, Devin Lawrence 6 1-1 16, Green 1 1-1 3, Carter 1 0-0 2, Desmond Lawrence 2 2-6 6, Mann 0 0-0 0, Bowie 0 0-0 0, Sommons 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 4-8 40.
• Chipley 21 26 11 11 — 69
• Hawthorne 8 5 5 22 — 40
• 3-point goals: Chipley 7 (Sharpe 3, Sims 2, Rowell, Forrest), Hawthorne 4 (Devin Lawrence 3, McKinnon). Total fouls: Hawthorne 15, Chipley 14. Fouled out: McKinnon. Technical fouls: none.