Abbeville beats Choctaw County

TROY — Brandon Salter watched from the stands last year as Abbeville missed a trip to the regionals for the “first time in a while.”
Thursday, he was the star of the show.

Salter scored 27 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field, pacing the Yellow Jackets to a 68-60 win over Choctaw County in the South Regional at Trojan Arena. Abbeville will play Central-Hayneville at 5:20 p.m. Saturday in the championship.

“It was tough,” Salter said of coming as a spectator last year. “I wanted to get out here and play.”

The Yellow Jackets were also inspired by an appearance from former star Melvin Harris, who helped Abbeville to a state championship in 1996. He was proudly displaying his championship ring.

“It made us want to go out and play hard,” Salter said.

Choctaw County had the early lead, but a 3-point play from Abbeville’s Quentin Newman gave the Yellow Jackets a 19-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Salter, who was on fire in the first half, hit back-to-back threes early in the second to give Abbeville a 27-17 lead. Salter was 6-of-8 from the field (including 3-of-3 from 3-point land) in the first half and finished with 15 points.

Abbeville led 34-29 at the half.

Choctaw County took a brief lead at 37-36, but Abbeville went on a 13-4 run in the last three minutes to take a 49-41 lead. Salter had a 3-point play to close the quarter, and Tyler Spann connected on a 3-point play during the run.

Demetrick Goodwin hit a three to open the fourth quarter for Choctaw County, but after that, the Tigers went into a “hack-a-Yellow Jacket” mode. Abbeville shot 20 free throws in the fourth quarter, but almost gave the game away with 10 turnovers in 12 possessions.

The Yellow Jackets led by double digits for most of the quarter, but after Jeffrey Grubbs and Quentin Newman fouled out, Choctaw County forced some turnovers and cut the lead to five, but that’s as close as it got.

“Our two main ball-handlers fouled out,” Abbeville head coach Moses Knight said. “We were trying to make adjustments, but it was slipping away. Everybody was standing around.”

Spann scored 13 and Grubbs 10 for Abbeville. Demetrick Goodwin led CCHS with 20 points, and Sherman Presswood scored 15.