SOUTHEAST 7A REGIONAL FINAL: Lee makes history with back-to-back trips to State Finals

Lee's De'marquiese Miles emerges from pile of bodies with ball.jpg

JD's Jakendric Reeves taps ball away from Lee's Demarshia Davis.jpg

JD Sakievian Haynes, Rongie Gordon, Lee's De'marquiese Miles chase loose ball1.jpg

JD Le'Tarion White calls timeout as Lee's Jamal Albritton tries to get ball.jpg

Action from Tuesday’s Class 7A Southeast Regional final between Jeff Davis and R.E. Lee, won by the Generals (By Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

It’s back to Birmingham.

For the first time under the regional format adopted in 1994, Robert E. Lee will be making back-to-back trips to the state tournament after defeating Jeff Davis 57-44 on Tuesday morning in the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Class 7A Southeast Regional championship game.

Lee played for a state title in 1992, losing to Vestavia Hills, but hasn’t returned to the championship game since. When the current classification system was expanded to 7A beginning in 2015, the Generals reached the state tournament in 2015, losing to Hoover in the semifinals, and last year, losing to Mountain Brook in the semifinals.

“They’ve been here before and they act like it and that’s a good thing, so hopefully this can carry on to the next game,” Lee coach Bryant Johnson said. “We plan on going up there and fulfilling our goal. It’s a similar feeling (to last year), but it’s a little different because of the seniors that we have. We have a lot of seniors so it’s kind of emotional for me because it’s so close to these guys getting out of here and they’re going to be missed at Robert E. Lee High School.”

In the first half, the Volunteers seemed to frustrate the Generals, even forcing Johnson to pull the ball out and run three minutes off the clock midway through the second quarter as Jeff Davis refused to budge from its zone defense.

“You don’t ever know what to expect,” Lee senior De’marquiese Miles said of the fourth matchup this season between the area rivals. “They might go box-and-one, they might go with a zone defense, they might go ‘man,’ you just have to be ready for it and prepared.”

The Generals responded with the final three points of the half for a 19-15 lead, then a 15-7 run to open the third quarter and force the Volunteers out of their defense.

“Our vibe was very different from when we played Auburn,” Jeff Davis coach LaKenya Knight said, referring to the regional semifinal win. “I guess the higher you go and the more at stake, the mentality level starts to get to us, especially if we’re not used to it. I’ve got a bunch of guys that have never made it out of area. To be playing in this magnitude of a game, that was big for them.”

Miles earned most valuable player honors with 16 points, four assists and five steals. Lee also got 14 points from Nicholas Barnes and 10 points from Deyunkrea Lewis.

Jordan Wesley led Jeff Davis (16-16) with 14 points, followed by Le’Tarion White with 11.

The Generals (31-1) earned a trip to the state semifinals for the eighth time in school history, joining teams from 1959, 1961, 1975, 1992, 1997, 2015 and 2019. Lee earned back-to-back trips to the state tournament in 1992 and 1993, but lost in the quarterfinals of the ’93 tournament.

This year, sporting a team with experience in the state tournament and a great record, the Generals will have a target on their back when they face Oak Mountain on Feb. 27 at 10:30 a.m. in the BJCC’s Legacy Arena.

“I told them that but we always look at it as we’re not going to be the hunted, we’re going to be the hunter,” Johnson said.

This year, the Generals hope for a different outcome after getting familiar with the tournament last year.

“I always feel like we belong,” Miles said, “but this time I know what to expect because we’ve already been there. What surprised me the most was the crowd. I’ve never been on a big stage like that. It was very shocking. Now I know I have to maintain focus and keep the crowd out of my game and win the game.”

Knight, who guided the Jeff Davis girls’ team to back-to-back titles five years ago, was asked if Lee had the mettle to win the school’s first state championship in basketball.

“It all depends on how bad they want it,” she said. “You can’t really base it off of records and numbers and stuff like that. When I first won my state championship, I remember driving to Wallace (in Hanceville to scout) and I’m watching and writing down plays. I’m like, ‘man, these plays aren’t working.’ I’m just thinking to myself, ‘this is about who wants it the most.’ So I threw the notebook away and came home and told my kids, ‘this is about who wants it the most,’ and I kind of got the kids into believing they wanted it more.”