Chiefs Reloaded runs table in adult basketball, again

By By Will Bardwell / staff writer
June 20, 2004
More than just a gold medal was at stake for one State Games of Mississippi basketball team on Saturday.
With first place in the adult basketball tournament already wrapped up, Chiefs Reloaded overcame a double-digit halftime deficit to squeak past Da Squad 53-50 and finish the day undefeated.
Chiefs Reloaded also ran the table for a gold medal during the 2003 State Games.
"They got up on us at the beginning, and I had to take over," said Sammie Cole, the team's player-coach, who scored 16 of his 23 points in the second half. "We didn't want to win the gold medal with a loss. We wanted to go undefeated, like we did last year."
Trailing by three with less than a second remaining, Da Squad inbounded the ball and put up a last desperate heave, but the shot came up just short of the basket.
Keary Brownlee added 10 points for Chiefs Reloaded in the win. Boo Ramsey tied Cole for game-high honors with 23 points, and Marcus Betts chipped in 10 for Da Squad.
The game, which was the ninth of 10 total contests during the day at the Meridian High School gym, finished the day for both teams. The round-robin tournament had five squads, with each team playing four games.
Play began at 9 a.m. and wrapped up just before 8 p.m.
Trustmark, a team which suffered its only loss to the gold medal winner, finished with a silver medal. Avery Showtime earned the bronze medal.
Trustmark 70
Avery Showtime 64
In Saturday's final game, Trustmark edged Avery Showtime to secure the State Games silver medal.
Trustmark led by 12 late in the first half, but Avery Showtime cut its deficit to six in the final minute of the first half. An Avery Showtime free throw tied the score 42-42 with 15 minutes remaining, and Anthony Little expanded the lead to 57-52 on a long three-pointer with 6:30 to play.
But Trustmark posted a late rally. A three-point play gave Trustmark a slim 62-61 lead with 1:33 left, and Trustmark eventually built a five-point lead with under 30 seconds to go.
Little buried another trey with 24 seconds left, cutting Trustmark's lead to 66-64, but it was the last basket Avery Showtime scored, securing the silver medal for Trustmark.
Stephen Dyess scored a game-high 24 points for Trustmark, including 18 in the second half. Keno Winston added 15 points, and Jamaal Martin had 11 points for the silver medalists.
Terry Thames led Avery Showtime with 15 points, followed closely by Little's 14 points. Barry Bennamon scored 10 points for Avery Showtime.
In the other State Games adult basketball contests, Trustmark defeated the New Deal Destroyers 60-57; Chiefs Reloaded beat Avery Showtime 65-59; Trustmark downed Da Squad 61-58; Avery Showtime dealt the New Deal Destroyers a 56-51 loss; Chiefs Reloaded squeaked past Trustmark 74-73; Avery Showtime got an 89-66 win against Da Squad; Da Squad bounced back with a 67-54 win over the New Deal Destroyers; and Chiefs Reloaded beat the New Deal Destroyers 82-50.