By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director
JACKSON — St. Stanislaus head coach Daniel Grieves joind a select group here at The Mississippi Coliseum late Saturday afternoon.
The former Rock-A-Chaw All-State standout player watched as SSC won the Class 3A state championship with a 49-36 win over Quitman, and in doing so, Grieves became one of a handful of men in the state prep circles to win a state championship at the same school as both a player and a head coach.
St. Stanislaus led from wire-to-wire, in moving to 31-4 on the season and wrapping up its second state title overall and first since that 2011 campaign when Grieves and his teammates did the same thing.

Quitman ends the season at 26-7, and the Panthers leave the Big House still in search of their first Gold Ball.
The only blemishes on the record in state for the Rocks this season came at the hands of three Class 7A programs, all of which qualified for the state playoffs. St. Stanislaus ends the season on a 14-game winning streak.

“These guys deserve this; they worked hard for this chance all season long,” Grieves said, admidst a jublilant celebration on the court. “And once we got here, they were determined to get it done against two very tough teams. I couldn’t be more proud of them, and for us to make more history for St. Stanislaus basketball.”

For the second straight game here at the Big House, The Rocks never trailed in earning the win.
Senior standout and Dandy Dozen center Max Baria got SSC off to a lead it would never relinquish on the first trip down the court for the Rocks when he nailed a baby hook from 5-feet out in the lane. His two free throws and a short jumper from Alan Gilliam made it 8-0 SSC at the 4:48 mark of the opening period.

Rafael Cohen tallied seven points, including a 3-pointer, and the Rocks were up 18-12 entering the second stanza.
An old-fashioned three-point play by Gilliam mid-way through the next quarter made it 28-20, and Baria’s two free throws gave SSC a double digit lead heading into halftime at 32-22.
Quitman was able to slice the deficit to six points, at 34-28, thanks to a 3-pointer by Caddarius Buxton three minutes into the third frame. But, St. Stanislaus responded in the final two minutes as Baria slammed home two straight dunks and both Gilliam and Cohen added short jumpers to extend the Rocks advantage to 12, at 44-32, entering the fourth period.
St. Stanislaus slowed the pace down in the fourth quarter to control the ball, and despite some shaky free throw moments by the Rocks the Panthers were never able to get closer than eight points down the stretch.

Cohen tallied a game-high 21 points to lead the Rocks, while Baria added a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds and he had three blocked shots also. Gilliam chipped in nine points to the winning effort as well, and Jason Forte had eight points.
Buxton had 14 points for Quitman.

Cohen was named the Most Valuable Player in the game. Cohen is expected to return next season as the Rocks aim for back-to-back state titles for tghe first time in program hstory, as Baria and Gilliam are the only two seniors this year.