High School Sports

JACKSONVILLE — The first half of White Plains's 75-68 victory over Piedmont in the Class 2A Northeast Regional final at Pete Mathews Coliseum would've made one wonder if either team event bothers practicing two-point shots.

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Video: White Plains vs. Piedmont Slideshow: NE Regional B'ball Tournament Day 4

The two squads combined to make a combined 14 of 23 3-pointers in a first half that saw White Plains take a four-point lead.

And the second was like it as the teams finished having sunk a total of 21 triples in a high-octane rematch of the area championship.

But Piedmont began to come undone with 5:00 to play, when junior guard Marquise Diamond was ejected after receiving a pair of technical fouls. He took umbrage to a jump ball call on a play in which he felt White Plains center Mikey Klein had reached over the back of teammate D'Eric Jackson on a rebound.

The Wildcats were finishing off a 12-2 run that wound up propelling them to a victory and their first trip to the Final Four in Birmingham since 1995.

"There's no way to sugarcoat it; that was big turning point," Piedmont coach Tommy Lewis said of Diamond's departure. "Not only did we lose his points, but we lost a good player."

White Plains hit seven 3-pointers in the first half but made a concerted effort to go inside in the second half and feed the ball to 6-7 post player Klein, an All-tournament selection who went for 16 points and 11 rebounds.

"We're not a 3-point-shooting team," Randall said. "They had seven different people who made 3s. We only have four guys we allow to shoot them.

"In the second half, we wanted to pound it in to Mikey more. That's been our philosophy the last three games. Don't stop till you get to the hole."

Terrence Chatman added 14, and Carlton Caver contributed 12 in the win.

Piedmont's Kyle Glover led all scorers with 18 points, and Diamond added 17.

The White Plains faithful began chanting, "Team Bradey" in unison in the game's waning stages in remembrance of team co-captain Bradey Munroe, who died from soft tissue sarcoma, a form of cancer, on the morning of the Wildcats' win 50-47 win over Ranburne on Wednesday.

Munroe was named tournament MVP.

With the win, White Plains improves its record to 26-5. The Wildcats will face defending state champs R.C. Hatch in the state semifinals at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention on Monday at 5:30 p.m.