Add some more hardware to the trophy case for the Hawthorne athletics program.
On Friday night at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland, top seed Hawthorne eased past No. 2 seed Crossroad Academy (Quincy), 59-38, in the FHSAA Boys Basketball Class Rural state championship game to win its third state title in program history.
It was Hawthorne’s seventh state championship (two football, three girls basketball, and two boys basketball) in the past six years.
“It feels great,” said Hawthorne coach Greg Bowie, who had led the Hornets to eight final four appearances in his 18 seasons. “Emotions all over the place right now. I’m just happy for my kids, coaching staff, the community, everybody. Coming into the season, coming late out of football I’ve got to be honest, we knew there were a lot of doubters.”
The win was anticlimactic as the Hornets (20-3) overcame an early 2-0 deficit and never trailed again.
Senior Chasion Wilson (game-high 16 points, 9 rebounds & 4 steals) hit a turnaround shot in the paint, got fouled, and converted the and-one for a 3-2 lead with 5:39 to play in the first quarter.
He added another and-one on a putback with 1:06 to play in the first quarter for a 10-5 lead.
“Chas brought some physicality to the program, some charisma, and it didn’t take long for him to jell with our guys,” Bowie said of the Lake Worth transfer. “He just came in and they meshed…Hawthorne is a special place, and you’ve got to be kind of different to play at Hawthorne. You’ve got to have thick skin.”
Wilson picked up his second foul with :41 left in the opening quarter and didn’t play in the second quarter, but Hawthorne was still able to build the lead to double digits.
Junior Kyler Ingram, the brother of former Hawthorne star C.J. Ingram, knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing with 5:36 to play in the half for a 17-7 advantage.
Despite a scoring slump that lasted for over three minutes, the Hornets still maintained their big lead. Senior Decarion Debose (4 points, 3 rebounds) scored on a layup for a 21-10 lead with 1:46 to play in the half to end the drought.
“This whole season with us losing C.J. people didn’t think we were going to be good,” said Debose, who finished with a game-high six assists. “We played with a lot of grit the whole year and played with a chip on our shoulder. We felt disrespected even though he was our leading scorer last year.”
Meanwhile, the Hornets held the Scorpions (17-10) to just five points in the first quarter and 14 total points in the first half.
“Like I said on Wednesday, we’re going to come out with heart and energy on defense and that’s what won us the game,” said Wilson, who scored eight of his 16 in the opening quarter. “Defense wins championships.”
Hawthorne opened the second half on a 6-0 run.
A pair of free throws by senior Leland Johnson (15 points, 5 rebounds), a reverse layup by Wilson, and a bucket by senior Kelvin Baker (5 points, 6 rebounds) stretched the lead to 15 at 29-14.
After a couple of baskets by Crossroad Academy to move within 11, Hawthorne pulled away with 9-0 run.
Johnson made three free throws, and Wilson added another and-one on a tip in. He added one more point on a free throw and Hawthorne had its largest lead at the time, 38-18.
“A lot of people counted us out, so we came and worked hard every day and this was the results,” said Johnson, who added five rebounds. “I worked hard, played good on defense and it turned into offense for me.”
Hawthorne dominated inside, outscoring Crossroad Academy, 36-16, in the paint. They also outscored the Scorpions, 11-1, in second chance points.
After final four appearances in 2022 and 2023, the Hornets are state champs for the first time since 2020.
“I take a lot of that blame for that too because of coming out of football late,” said Bowie, who is the offensive coordinator for the football team which played in its fifth straight state title game this past December. “I’ve got to find time to get in the gym more even while we’re in football season, so just juggling that is a lot but our kids don’t complain. As soon as we hit the court they’re running and they’re getting ready.”
Head Coach Greg Bowie (left) and his brother, Cornelius Ingram, celebrate the win.