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Reserved in its victory celebrations up to this point on this state playoff journey, The Burlington School boys’ basketball team let loose Saturday night.
As the clock expired on the Spartans’ 72-52 victory against Northwood Temple Academy in the NCISAA Class 2-A state championship game, the celebration began as TBS players swarmed the court.
“Our energy and our culture really showed,” TBS coach Ryan Bernardi said. “They were just so bought into the team and the mission. Everybody’s earned this. It’s not just the guys who played. It’s the coaches, it’s the guys on the bench, it’s our school. This is a great accomplishment.”
The party continued into the locker room, then moved back to the court, where the Spartans positioned a ladder underneath a basket, then one-by-one climbed it to cut down the net, NCAA Tournament style.
“I don’t know,” Bernardi said as the team tried to decide on how the net-cutting process would work. “I’ve never done this before.”
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Jamarii Thomas, aggressive all night in his approach and able to drive to the basket almost at will, led the host Spartans (24-7) to the state title for independent schools with 28 points.
The Burlington School guard Jamarii Thomas, left, is defended by Northwood Temple's Jaquantae Harris.
Times-News
David Kehrli / Times-News, Times-News
“I’m just so happy for our team,” Bernardi said. “The look on their faces, the feeling of accomplishment. Working hard and getting to where you want to get to. This is something that will be a part of their lives forever. I'm so lucky to be a part of it. Fun, fun, fun.”
Thomas scored 15 of his points in the second half as TBS achieved its season-long goal, and completed the mission in its own gym.
Kuluel Mading, who used last season’s loss to Northwood Temple in the Class 1-A title game as fuel, finished with 15 points. He scored seven of those in an important third quarter after a slow opening half.
“We challenged Kuluel at halftime,” Bernardi said. “Last year, he only had two points in the state championship game. (In this game), he only had two points at halftime. So we challenged him and he answered the challenge.
“It shows his growth. It shows his maturity. He’s just rock solid. I love him for life.”
The Burlington School's Kuluel Mading cuts a piece of the net after the Spartans won the NCISAA Class 2-A state championship Saturday night.
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David Kehrli / Times-News, Times-News
In the lead-up to the championship game, Mading changed his Twitter profile photo to an image of last season’s runner-up medal.
“I changed it to the state runner-up (medal) because I’ve just used it as motivation the whole year,” he said. “A year ago around this time, we got that medal and I just used it as motivation. It’s hanging up across from my bed. Every day when I wake up, I look at it like, ‘This isn’t happening again.’ I brought that into fruition.”
The Spartans received 10 points from Kobe George.
The ultimate goal obtained, Mading and his teammates soaked it all in, unable to be bothered for the foreseeable future.
“It’s indescribable how I feel right now,” Mading said. “Just over here all smiles. Nobody can ruin my day tomorrow. I might not even go to sleep.”
Julian Williams scored 12 points to lead Northwood Temple. Jaquantae Harris and Brady Rankin provided 10 points apiece.
David Kehrli is a sports reporter at the Burlington Times-News and USA Today Network. You can reach him at david.kehrli@thetimesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidKehrliTN. Subscribe to the Burlington Times-News here.
