Buzzing on
- Updated: February 12, 2025
Patton leads four Glencoe players in double figures, and Yellow Jackets swarm Fyffe late to earn first regional victory since 2002.
By Joe Medley
East Alabama Sports Today
JACKSONVILLE — Glencoe’s boys came a buzzer-beating putback away from losing its area-tournament opener, but the Yellow Jackets surged to the Class 3A Northeast Regional final Wednesday.
Jayden Patton led four Glencoe players in double figures with 21 points, and the Yellow Jackets pulled away for a 75-63 victory over Fyffe in Pete Mathews Coliseum.
Glencoe (24-7) scored its first regional victory since 2002 and earned this season’s fourth showdown with Area 12 rival Piedmont in Tuesday’s 10:45 a.m. regional final.
Glencoe beat Piedmont in the area final at Piedmont. This time, the Yellow Jackets will play the Bulldogs hoping to achieve their first Final Four berth since 2000.
Garrett Morgan added 20 points, Wade Segrest 14 and Grant Smith 13 Wednesday as Glencoe overcame 24 points from Fyffe’s Issac Slaton, 15 from Cooper Cox and 10 from Brody Badgett.
Not bad for a team that survived its area opener, beating Westbrook Christian on Bryce Borntrager at the buzzer. They stand one victory away from the Final Four.
“All we’ve ever wanted to do was go to Birmingham,” Morgan said. “That’s been our main goal since we all played in seventh grade.”
Glencoe coach Ryan Chambless, an Alexandria graduate, eyes the chance to coach in his first regional final since coaching Jacksonville’s girls to the 2015 Final Four. He coached the Golden Eagles to a state title in 2012.
He coached Glencoe to the Northeast Regional in 2023, but state power Plainview always waited for others who got to the 3A regional. Reclassification bumped Plainview up to 4A this year.
“All these guys, especially the senior group, were here two years ago, and Plainview was just so much better than everybody, really,” said Chambless, who at Pleasant Valley and Rome (Ga.) and before Glencoe. “That’s who we had to play when we got here.
“I feel like, just honestly, these guys have worked really hard to get back to this point, and they’ve done a great job to give themselves this opportunity, and I’m extremely proud of them. We’re blessed to keep on playing.”
“That opportunity is special,” Chambless said. “I just hope guys realize everybody doesn’t get to do this and to make the most of the opportunity they’ve got.”
The Yellow Jackets left Fyffe (18–14) 33-30 at halftime and 48-44 after three quarters but owned the fourth quarter. It was 52-49 until Patton caught a tipped rebound and knocked down a 3-pointer to force a six-point lead with 6:49 to play.
That started an 8-0 spurt that became a 16-3 run.
“I thought we played really hard,” Chambless said. “I was really proud of our effort. They’ve got two guys that are really tough to guard, and I thought we did a really good job on them for the most part.
“I was proud of how we played on offense. At the end, we did a really good job of controlling the ball.”
The Yellow Jackets hit 19 of 35 for the game, compared to 4-for-7 for Fyffe.
“If you had told me that they were going to shoot 35 free throws and we’re going to shoot seven, I’d say we should just stay home,” Fyffe coach Dustin Bryant said.
Photo gallery by Greg Warren
You must be logged in to post a comment Login