Linden teams advance to South Regional finals

Linden 65, J.F. Shields 57 (girls)

Linden is back in the finals of the South Regional in Dothan for the third consecutive season following 65-57 victory over J.F. Shields Friday. The Patriots led for virtually the entirety of the contest against the team that bounced them from bracket a year ago.

Linden rushed out to a 19-8 lead after one quarter of play and rode that advantage through the next 24 minutes of tightly-contested action. The game played out as a contrast of styles with Linden attacking the basket to a clip of 54.6 percent shooting from the floor. Shields countered with a less-than-stellar 43.6 percent from the field but kept itself alive by shooting 43.8 percent from beyond the arc, accounting for 21 of its 57 points.

The difference in the game came at the charity stripe where Linden hit 15 of 28 free throw attempts. Shields did itself few favors with minimal opportunities, shooting only 2 of 11 from the line.

Amber Richardson again paced the Patriots with a 27-point, 11-rebound performance. Tyroneisha Charleston finished with 15 points while Dajia Miller had 11.

Mar’quaja Brown hit six threes as part of a 22-point performance that anchored Shields. Ti’Ajah McCreary scored 12 points while Shamya Johnson had 11.

Linden (18-3) advances to face Pleasant Home in the South Regional final Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.

Linden 42, J.F. Shields 34 (boys)

Less than two hours after their female schoolmates punched a ticket to Tuesday’s South Regional final, the Linden Patriots upended J.F. Shields 42-34 to advance themselves to Class 1A’s final eight teams.

Neither team shot the ball particularly well with offense coming at a premium during the game’s first half. The score sat knotted at 15 apiece as the teams headed to the locker room.

With 7:38 remaining in the third quarter, Kevin Green hit the back end of a two-shot trip to the free throw line to put Linden up 16-15. The Patriots then cultivated that lead to the tune of a 13-6 period and led 28-21 headed to the fourth. Linden’s lead grew to as high as 12 points in the fourth quarter before Shields cut the deficit to 37-34 with 41 seconds remaining.  Green then hit the tail end of a double bonus before Graderius Brown scored four points in the final 17 seconds to put the game on ice.

Green finished with 19 points and nine rebounds to lead both categories. Isaiah Scott added 13 points and five rebounds. Tyrik Nettles had 14 for Shields while Jadereyan Stallworth scored 11.

Linden (11-10) will face Georgiana Tuesday at 5:45 p.m. in the South Regional final.