After leading the Mexico football team to its first Final Four appearance in 26 years, seniors Michael White and Anthony Shivers didn’t have much time to rest.
They started focusing on …
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After leading the Mexico football team to its first Final Four appearance in 26 years, seniors Michael White and Anthony Shivers didn’t have much time to rest.
They started focusing on basketball just two days after the Mexico football team lost to St. Mary’s in the state semifinals.
“We had to hop right back into it,” White said. “It was hard because football and basketball are two different things.”
Even though they had just a few days of practice, White and Shivers still turned in strong efforts to help the Mexico basketball team capture its second straight Montgomery County Invitational championship. The Bulldogs topped the Fulton Hornets 73-61 in the finals on Dec. 4.
Mexico, the top seed in the eight-team tournament, came back from an 8-5 first-quarter deficit to pull off the win over the second-seeded Hornets.
“We had to play as a team,” White said. “We kept our heads up and kept going.”
The Bulldogs finished 3-0 in the tournament. They also beat eighth-seeded Wellsville-Middletown 73-26 in the first round on Nov. 30 and fourth-seeded Montgomery County 57-43 in the semifinals on Dec. 2.
Mexico won its fifth tournament title. The Bulldogs also came out on top in 2010-12.
“It’s big for our program and it’s big for these guys,” Mexico coach Darren Pappas said. “It’s a new ballclub. They’re finally starting to find some chemistry. It’s exciting. This is never an easy tournament to win. There are some really quality teams in it and I’m just very proud of them.”
Senior Isaiah Reams earned the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award after scoring 65 points in three games. Reams finished with 23 against Fulton, 22 against Montgomery County and 20 against Wellsville-Middletown.
“He’s an all-state point guard from last year,” Pappas said. “We’re going to need him as we move forward. He’s been kind of that floor general for us. He does a lot of good things on the offensive end. He can create off the dribble. He can hit 3’s. He has great court vision.”
Junior Jordan Shelton earned all-tournament honors after finishing with 44 points in the tournament, including 21 against Wellsville-Middletown.
“It was huge for him to get that,” Pappas said. “Hopefully, it will get him going. I know he wants to continue to work on his game on the defensive end and the offensive end.”
White scored 10 points against Fulton and finished with 18 in the tournament. Shivers played off the bench the whole tournament and finished with seven points in three games.
Pappas said he was glad to have White and Shivers back on the basketball team after having successful seasons in football this fall.
“We know they’re not in totally basketball shape yet, but they have enough athleticism and they have enough basketball I.Q. from playing this summer and getting varsity experience last year,” the Mexico coach said. “We can trust them in any situation.”
Shivers said he was looking forward to getting back on the basketball court after the football season ended on Nov. 27.
“It feels great,” the senior said. “The transition to another sport is hard. But the love we all have for basketball makes it way easier.”
Another senior, Daeye Miller, scored 10 points against Fulton and finished with 27 points in the tournament.
Sophomore DJ Long scored 12 points off the bench against the Hornets.
Mexico was scheduled to play a home game against Marshall on Dec. 7.