WAYNESBORO – As freshmen, Andy Slaughter, Colton Steward and Tanner Bryan lost 18 of 23 games.
As seniors, the three walked off the floor Thursday night at Wayne County as region champions – largely because of two freshmen.
Auden Slaughter’s 3-pointer with six seconds remaining gave Santa Fe a 41-38 win over district rival Richland in the finals of the Region 5-1A tournament.
As big as Auden’s bucket was, equally critical was Macon Adkison’s defensive effort against Richland’s Trey Luna. Averaging nearly 22 points per game for the Raiders, Luna managed just three points, all at the foul line, in the nailbiter.
“Macon was the MVP,” Santa Fe coach Brad Slaughter said after his team secured the school’s first region title – in either girls or boys basketball – and a homecourt matchup in Monday’s Class A sectional round against West Carroll.
“For a freshman to guard the best player we’ve played all year long, that was one of the most special things I’ve ever seen. That was absolutely awesome.”
Keeping Luna in check allowed Santa Fe (25-5) to play through some offensive lulls and some foul trouble, as did an 11-point second quarter from Andy Slaughter. That outburst, which came in the first four minutes of the period, gave the Wildcats a 23-16 advantage that turned into a 24-23 deficit by halftime.
“Andy was big in keeping us going,” Brad said. “We were in a complete drought besides him.”
Tyrell Randolph (11 points), who scored before the halftime buzzer to give Richland (21-8) a one-point lead, did so again at the end of the third quarter to make it a 34-30 game, and the Raiders pushed the margin up to six with Gage Kirk’s low-post basket to open the final eight minutes.
From there, though, Andy and Auden traded baskets – interrupted by a Bryan score off an offensive rebound that tied the game at 38 with 2½ minutes to play.
Steward rebounded a Luna missed free throw with 1:35 remaining, and the Wildcats ran the clock nearly all the way down before Auden’s heroics.
“I didn’t have a very good night on the offensive end,” he said. “But I kept my head and stayed focused on the defensive end.”
The final sequence was executed with the intent of Andy getting into the lane and creating a shot – either for himself or a teammate – or getting fouled. However, Richland shut that down, with Steward instead kicking the ball out to the right wing for the winning shot.
“I had confidence in myself to shoot it and make it,” said Auden, who finished with 14 points.
“Auden stays ready. We never give up on him,” Brad said. “If he’s got a strength, it’s that he believes every one is going in.”
For Andy, who scored a game-high 19 points, the outcome brought a vow he and his father made four years ago to fruition.
“This means a lot,” he said. “Starting my freshman year, me and Brad said we were going to turn this program around. Bringing home the region championship, that’s a lot more than a huge deal.”
The win was Santa Fe’s second in four meetings with Richland this season. The Wildcats won a 45-43 homecourt regular-season clash on Feb. 1, with the Raiders retaliating four days later with a 63-51 victory in Lynnville. In the District 10-1A finals at Wayne County on Feb. 21, Richland won again, 66-46.
“We’ve played four games, and it’s 2-2,” Richland coach Jason Loveless said. “If we played 10 times, it’d probably be a wash. Credit to them. They locked down on defense, and I thought we did too. It was a one-possession game.
“Moving on is what we’re doing. I’ve always said, what happens in that locker room after that is what will make or break you. We;re going to rest and regroup and move on.”
The Raiders will travel to McKenzie, a 59-51 winner in the Region 6-1A finals Thursday, while the Wildcats get ready for a historical event.
“Santa Fe needs something like this,” Brad Slaughter said. “We’ve never had a game like this on our home floor. We knew we had to play our hardest to try to have that opportunity.”
Santa Fe 41, Richland 38
S 12 11 7 11 – 41
R 10 14 10 4 – 38
Santa Fe (41) – Macon Adkison 3, Auden Slaughter 14, Tanner Bryan 2, Colton Steward 3, Andy Slaughter 19
Richland (38) – Tyrell Randolph 11, Jace Derryberry 8, Carter Edwards 4, Gage Kirk 9, Trey Luna 3, Luke Jones 3
3-pointers – Santa Fe 7 (Adkison, Au. Slaughter, Steward, An. Slaughter 3), Richland 4 (Randolph, Derryberry 2, Jones)
All-tournament – Will Harder, Moore Co.; Isaiah Thomison, Fayetteville; Carter Edwards, Trey Luna, Richland; Colton Steward, Auden Slaughter, Andy Slaughter (MVP), Santa Fe
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