Madison Central, Germantown to play for 7A state title
One of Madison County’s biggest rivalries will take place on the biggest stage, as Madison Central will play rival Germantown for a MHSAA 7A boys basketball state championship on Thursday night.
While both Madison Central and Germantown share an inexperience factor when it comes to state title games in their program history, the two teams got here in very different ways.
Germantown (28-5) has been the consensus top-ranked team in 7A, the highest public school classification in the state, for almost the entire season. The Mavericks have only lost two games to teams in Mississippi, with their other three losses coming against teams from out of state.
Even though Germantown has never been to a state title game in their program’s history, the expectations have been high for this team since the summer.
One major reason for those expectations was the transfer of brothers Mike and Mason Williams from Jackson Academy to Germantown. The brothers, sons of former NBA All-Star and current Jackson State Head Coach Mo Williams, have taken the Mavericks to another level this season. The loaded Germantown roster also boasts top-50 nationally ranked junior recruit Sam Funches, who stands at a towering 6’11.
The Mavericks have met those expectations, breezing through the season and dominating the state tournament, beating Oxford, Tupelo, and Biloxi in blowouts to get to the state title game.
As for Madison Central (23-11), the Jaguars have made a bit of a Cinderella run during the postseason. After finishing third place in the regular season region standings and third place in the region tournament, the Jaguars have ripped off three straight wins against higher-seeded teams in the state tournament, which includes Region 1-7A #2 Southaven, Region 2-7A #1 Starkville, and now Region 3-7A #2 Brandon.
Madison Central is led by a dynamic duo of seniors in Navy signee JP Baldwin and star point guard Dylan Rowe. The two seniors have been the steady hand and leaders for this Madison Central team all season long.
While the Jaguars have shown some inconsistencies in the regular season, they have hit their peak at the perfect time and will look to continue that momentum all the way to their first state title since 2006 and second overall.
Thursday’s state championship will be the fourth meeting between the two teams this season. Germantown won all three previous meetings, 57-50 in the regular season at Madison Central, 66-35 at Germantown in the regular season, and 66-54 in the Region 2-7A semifinals.
Having two teams playing for a state title in the highest classification of public school basketball for the first time ever shows the growth, development, and talent of the Madison County basketball scene.
Madison County will also have teams hoping to win state titles later this week in 5A and 6A in Canton and Ridgeland.
“We are excited for the challenge and I am excited for Madison County Schools,” Madison Central Head Coach Ben Gardner said. “We (Madison County) are known for excellence and we are adding to that in the basketball part of things and we are hoping for our guys at Ridgeland with Madison County Schools to join us.”
The MHSAA 7A boys basketball state championship game between Madison Central and Germantown will be played on Thursday at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson, with tip-off scheduled for 8 PM. Tickets can be purchased on GoFan prior to the game or at the gate, if tickets are still available at game time.