from staff reports

COLUMBIA — Brody Cole scored 20 points and Sneh Patel added 15 but it wasn’t enough as Adams County Christian School fell to Simpson Academy 68-60 in the boys final of the MAIS AAA South State title game.

“I’m proud of my guys,” ACCS coach Richy Spears said. “We got down 16, but we didn’t quit. We kept digging away and eventually got it down to four points.”

With the loss, ACCS will now serve as the South’s No. 2 seed in next week’s state tournament. The Rebels’ first game will be either Tuesday or Wednesday.

“From the beginning of the year to now, I’m proud of the way we’ve improved,” Spears said. “We’ve made some strides.”

Devin Spear had nine points and Andrew Ratcliff chipped in with seven for ACCS.

Columbia 70, Cathedral 32

Cathedral boys basketball couldn’t catch a break in the consolation game of MAIS AAA South State tournament Saturday.

In a game filled with injuries and early foul trouble, the Green Wave’s scoring effort was not enough to beat district rival Columbia Academy, losing 70-32.

“It started bad and it got worst,” coach Peter Arnold said. “(James Allen) Coley got two fouls in the first 80 seconds, D.J. Batteste hurt his back and (Connor) Mire twisted his ankle. It went downhill from there.”

Cathedral found itself trailing 30-19 at the end of the first half, and watched the game slip away after scoring just 13 points in the final two quarters.

“We were scrambling to piece it together,” Arnold said. “The game continued to get farther away from us.”

Cathedral enters the state tournament as a No. 4 seed. Cathedral will play either Tuesday or Wednesday in next week’s tournament.