Deivon Smith leads five Rams in double figures to help dethrone defending state champs and 2018-19 National Player of the Year Sharife Cooper.
Video: Grayson beats McEachern in 7A semifinalHighlights of the Rams 82-76 win over the defending 7A champs.
A back-and-forth first half saw the Indians take a 29-27 advantage at halftime, before the Rams (30-1) busted things open in the second half to win their 22nd straight game.
Grayson got out in transition and stifled the Indians defensively in the second half, using a 30-13 third quarter spurt to propel the Rams into the state finals.
Although the defending state champions battled hard to make things interesting late in the fourth, the Rams were able to knock down important free throws down the stretch to hold on.
The Indians' loss marks the end of an era, as Auburn-signee
Sharife Cooper finished his spectacular high school career with a record of 109-12 over his four years. He was the first player to win MaxPreps National Player of the Year as a junior last season.
Grayson advances to next Saturday's state title game, when they will take on
Wheeler (Marietta) (23-7).
Wheeler defeated
Milton 59-47 in the first GHSAA Class AAAAAAA semifinal showdown on Saturday. The Wildcats
were paced by Denver-signee
Sam Hines Jr. who finished with 19 points, while standout
sophomore
Bruce Thornton surpassed the 1,000 career point mark with a
game-high 28 points in the loss.
The Rams enter Saturday's championship game as favorites to capture its first state title in program history, winning their previous meeting this season with Wheeler 73-68 in early December.
Deivon Smith led Grayson with 21 points.
File photo by Will Fagan
