Central Fellowship cannot match Brentwood’s shooting in 81-59 state championship loss

COLUMBUS, Ga. — The Central Fellowship Lancers could not overcome their depleted roster and a lethal shooting attack from Brentwood in the GIAA Class 2A State Championship on Saturday, falling behind early and failing to recover in a deflating 81-59 loss to the Eagles.

Central Fellowship did not appear particularly woeful in any specific aspect of its gameplan but did not excel enough from the floor to match the Eagles’ output. Brentwood shot lights out for almost the entire night, including a 33-point second quarter that proved too much for the Lancers.

“Brentwood’s a really well-coached team, and they just played well. They got hot, and we got cold,” Central Fellowship head coach Jacob Kline said. “I thought we got good looks. We were making them in the first quarter, we adjusted our defense, but they got hot. It happens. I’m still super proud of what they accomplished.”

The absence of key offensive pieces Josh Sanders and Shaheem Barbosa did nothing to make the contest easier. The two star players left the team for personal reasons — Barbosa because of playing time — right before the region tournament began, Kline said.

Even so, the Lancers had excelled without Sanders and Barbosa. Central Fellowship reached the region championship game and, en route to the state title game, defeated No. 1 Heritage for an upset in the semifinals.

“To have two of your teammates quit on you right before the playoffs, it stings. But the guys were resilient, they rallied around each other,” Kline said. “We were able to beat Heritage, and we played them earlier in the season with those guys and we lost. That just shows how hard this team worked and how they believed in each other … to come together and make it to the state championship, that’s huge.”

Kline was proud of his squad, which featured only one senior. The Lancers return much of their talented roster next season.

“We’ve got eight guys coming back. I told ‘em, ‘As the ultimate competitor, this is gonna sting. But remember this feeling, because we’re gonna be back here next year for sure,’” Kline said.

Abra Austin led Central Fellowship with 16 points, followed by Sirron Chambers with 13. Cobb and Zyion Andrews each had 21 points to lead the floor for Brentwood, with Andrews scoring his 1,000th career point in the third quarter.

The Lancers looked solid in the opening quarter despite missing two of their key scorers, but Brentwood matched them blow-for-blow and then some as the game unfolded. 

Central Fellowship got nice shooting from Sirron Chambers to grab a lead with a bit less than four minutes left in the quarter, and the Lancers managed to hold it until Brentwood got back-to-back scores in the final minute to take a 15-14 lead into the second quarter.

That was when the cracks started to show a bit for the team from Macon. The Eagles stayed red-hot from the field led by a superb shooting effort from Cobb, who knocked down several free throws and shots from beyond the arc as part of a 14-point effort in the period. 

With Cobb’s shooting — along with 10 points from Tristan Robinson and CFCA’s offense lagging behind — Brentwood soared ahead to take a 48-28 halftime lead.

That advantage only grew in the second half, as the Eagles were up by 30 on multiple occasions as the clock wound down before they eventually secured the 81-59 win. A sizable Brentwood crowd cheered as the Eagles won the boys state championship to join the school’s girls team, who also won the Class 2A state trophy.