Spartans Postgame
Commercial Appeal - By Jim Masilak
White Station 82, Jackson North Side 71
March 21, 2004
Play of the game
White Station was nursing a 43-39 lead early in the second half when Reiley Ervin came up with the biggest of his 10 buckets. The Spartans had seen their 11-point halftime lead erode as the Indians went on a 7-0 run to start the second half. Ervin, however, drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the Spartans some breathing room, and he moments later he hit another one to push the lead to 49-41.
Stat of the game
Much was made of Jackson North Side's lack of depth, and it was the Spartans' bench that helped make the difference. In a game where a total of 50 fouls were called, the Spartans enjoyed an 18-4 advantage over the Indians in bench scoring. Bench play became a big factor in the second half when North Side starters Reginald Delk, Jarrell Shanklin and Dell Coleman all fouled out, and when White Station starters Taylor Schall, J.P. Prince and Johathan Ball each picked up early fourth fouls.
Star of the game
Ervin had 26 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals en route to being named tournament MVP.
Odds and ends
With a 39-2 mark this season, White Station, which won its fourth title in five years, upped its record during that period to an astonishing 176-12.
The Spartans went 34-4 in 1999-2000, when they won their first Class AAA state title.
In 2001, when White Station lost in the Region 8-AAA tournament to Fairley, the Earnest Shelton-led Spartans finished 31-2.
They went 36-2 in the championship-winning years of '02 and '03, and their 39 victories this year set a school record.
The state-title winning business can be a stressful one, and that's been especially true for the Spartans.
White Station has been a fixture in the national polls the past few seasons, and the expectations build from year to year.
"There is a little bit of relief involved," coach Terry Tippett said, adding with a smile that "the students are the worst. They all say, 'You've got to make it to state so we can have our March vacation.' "
Dozens of Spartans fans, some wearing "Tippett's Dynasty" T-shirts, made the trip to Murfreesboro with excused absences from school.
For the players, however, the vacation will last only until the next practice. Such are the expectations and the fear of breaking the title-winning string.
"Every year the seniors say that might be the last (title) to come through White Station," Ervin said. "Every class doesn't want to be the team to end it. It's that pressure that drives our team.
"Now I get to say it to (junior forward) J.P. (Prince). Now it's on him and the other juniors."
Score by Quarter
Q1 Q1 Q3 Q4 Final
Jackson North Side 13 19 21 18 - 71
White Station 16 27 15
24 - 82
WHITE STATION (82)
min fg 3pt ft
r pts
Cunningham 29 1-6 1-5 6-8
8 9
Pigram 29
5-15 2-7 5-5 3 17
Ervin 30
10-16 2-3 4-4 5 26
Ball
19 5-7 0-0 0-0
2 10
Schall 14
0-0 0-0 2-2 7
2
Hilgeman 1 0-0
0-0 2-4 0 2
Prince 16
1-3 0-0 4-8 5 6
Jones 9
3-4 1-1 0-0 1
7
Bynam 1
0-0 0-0 0-2 0
0
Lott
10 1-1 0-0 1-3
5 3
WiIlams 1
0-0 0-0 0-0 0
0
Jones 1
0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0
Team
5
TotaIs 160
26-52 6-16 24-36 42 82
JACKSON NORTH SIDE (71)
min fg 3pt ft
r pts
Williams 29 7-16 4-10
3-4 4 21
DeIk 29
5-13 2-6 1-1 1 13
Shanklin 26 4-9
0-0 3-5 6 11
Delk 30
5-16 1-8 3-6 6 14
Coleman 28 2-4
0-0 4-4 5 8
Bums
2 0-1 0-1 0-0
0 0
Boyland 7
0-2 0-2 1-2 1
1
Gray
3 0-1 0-1 2-2
1 2
Hurd
4 0-2 0-0 1-4
3 1
Blankenship 1 0-0 0-0
0-0 1 0
Team
2
Totals 160 23-64
7-28 18-28 36 11
Offensive Rebounds - Jackson North Side 19
(Williams 2, Delk 1, Shanklin 4, Delk 3, Coleman 3,
Gray 1 Hurd 3, team 2); White Station 14
(Cunningham 1, Pigram 2, Ervin 1, Ball 1, Schall 2, Prince 2,
Jones 1, Lott 1; Jones 1, team 2)
Assists - Jackson North Side 6 (Williams I, Delk 2,
Delk 1, BoyIand 1, Hurd 1); White Station 14
(Cunningham 4, Ervin 6, Ball 1, Prince 2, Jones 1.)
Turnovers -- Jackson North Side 14 (Williams 6;
Delk 2, Shanklin 1, Delk 4, Boyland 1); 'White Station 16
(Cunningham 1, Pigram 1, Ervin 4, Ball 4, Schall 4,
Hilgeman 1, Jones 1).
Steals - Jackson North Side 7 (Williams 1; Delk 1.
Shanklin I, Coleman 2, Boyland 1, Hurd 1); White
Station 8 (Cunningham 5, Ervin 3).
Blocks -. Jackson North Side 7 (Williams 1, Delk I,
Shanklin 1, Delk 3, Coleman 1); White Station 1,
(Cunningham 1)
Fouls - Jackson North Side 28 (Williams 3, Delk 3,
Shanklin 5, Delk 5, Coleman 5, Boyland 3, Gray 1,
Hurd 3); White Station 22 (Cunningham 3. Pigram 2, Ervin 1,
Ball 5, Schall 4, Hilgeman 1, Prince 4, Jones 1, Jones 1)
Technicals - Jackson North Side, Coleman.