Jalen Steele hit a clutch leaner with 1 second left in regulation to lift the Fulton Falcons to a 48-46 win over the Bolivar Central Tigers. The Junior guard battled early foul trouble to score 20 points in 22 minutes and scored all 15 of Fulton's fourth quarter points. The win moves Fulton into the Class AA State Championship game Saturday @ 5 pm EST where they will defend their State title versus either Memphis Booker T Washington or Chattanooga Brainerd.
Fulton hit 50% from three point range on the game, and held the Tigers to 0-5 3-point shooting in the second half. Senior James Gallman led the Falcons with 12 first half points, as his back court mate, Steele, sat all but 5 minutes due to foul trouble. Gallman finished with 14 points, going 2-3 from the 3-point strip. Robert Boyd again led the Falcons in rebounding with 7 total.
Jalen Steele is mobbed by teammates after his winning shot
Courtland Styles stretches for a rebound
James Gallman skies over a Bolivar defender
Steele's shot lifts Fulton at buzzer, 48-46 (KNS Article):
MURFREESBORO — With the score tied at 46, Jalen Steele wore a large grin as he dribbled down the clock for the final shot of Friday’s Class AA state semifinal against Bolivar.
Fulton’s 6-foot-2 junior wing knew something his defender didn’t.
“We were supposed to have run a play,” said Steele. “I got the ball, and Coach (Jody) Wright said, ‘Go ahead. Go ahead.’ So then I was ball-handling, and I just started smiling. I started thinking of stuff in my head, and I started smiling.
“I was like, ‘I got him. I got him.’”
Steele got him.
He put a shake move on his defender, drove the lane and his shot counted at the buzzer in a 48-46 victory, one in which Steele scored all of Fulton’s 15 fourth-quarter points to advance to today’s title game at Middle Tennessee State University’s Murphy Center.
Fulton (29-6) will play Booker T. Washington (29-2) at 5 p.m. for a shot at a second consecutive championship. Washington, which eliminated Carter on Thursday by eight points, beat Chattanooga Brainerd 61-36 on Friday.
Steele was 8-for-17 shooting and scored all 20 of his points in the second half after missing the final 9 minutes, 33 seconds of the first half with three fouls. Senior 
James Gallman scored 12 of his 14 in the first half to keep Fulton afloat.
“I felt lonely without Jalen,” said Gallman with a laugh. “(But) I had to do my thing and step it up.”
Steele didn’t take long to warm in the second half. He hit a floater in the lane at the 4:30 mark of the third quarter and then a 3 a minute later during Fulton’s 10-0 run for the 33-29 lead.
When Bolivar (27-4) took a 37-33 lead into the fourth, Steele went on a 10-5 run for a one-point lead. His three-point play with 1:16 left got Fulton in front by two.
The Tigers missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity with 36 seconds to play but regained possession on a jump-ball call. Chris Reaves converted the inbounds alley-oop layup to tie it at 46 six seconds later.
Steele prevented the overtime, and Fulton’s mass celebration ensued.
“It was crazy how it happened,” said Steele of the last play.
After Fulton erased a 6-0 deficit with a 12-3 run, Steele was whistled for a charge with 1:33 left in the first quarter, quickly finding the bench with three fouls and zero points. Instead of the Falcons wilting, reserve Reggie Garrett entered and scored four quick points in the post for a 14-13 second-quarter lead. Courtland Styles later added a 3 from the left wing.
Gallman, who scored eight first-quarter points, hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key for the Falcons’ biggest lead (five points) with 2:35 to go before the half. But the Tigers closed on an 8-0 run. Jonathan Hodge hit his third 3 with 58 seconds left to lead 26-23 at half.
Fulton, now 5-0 all time in the state semifinals, outscored the Tigers 25-20 in the second half thanks to Steele and his foresight in the final seconds.
“I was hoping he was going to be aggressive,” said Wright of the final play. “He’s a great foul shooter. I felt like something good was going to happen.”
Lemar Gipson celebrates after Fulton's Semifinal Win
Fulton beats Bolivar on shot at buzzer (Tennessean)
Jalen Steele scored all of his game-high 20 points in the second half and hit the game-winner as time expired as Fulton beat Bolivar 48-46 in the Class AA semifinals. The win sends the defending state champions back to the title game where they will face Booker T. Washington (29-2) at 4 p.m. Saturday.
“There was a point in the game where I came in and took a shot and bricked it,” Steele said. “I just had to put up a shot because I had sat the whole (first) half. I got that off and felt good after that.”
Steele scored all 15 of the Falcons’ fourth-quarter points to help Fulton (29-6) pull out the win. His final basket came as he drove into the paint and leaped, floating past defender Mitch Ross before firing up the game-winner.
“I was trying to wait for him to slap my hand,” Steele said. “I thought he was going to foul me. I just went up and put it up.”
MTSU signee James Gallman added 14 for Fulton. All but two came in the first half when Steele spent most of the time on the bench.
“I had to step it up because Jalen was out,” Gallman said.
Chris Reaves led Bolivar (27-4) with 13 points. Ricky Tisdale and Jonathan Hodge added 12 each.
Tisdale’s jumper gave Bolivar a 44-43 lead with 2:23 left. But Steele answered, converting a three-point play to give Fulton a 46-44 lead with 1:16 left.
Reaves answered with a layup with 32 seconds left, setting up Steele’s heroics.
“(Steele) scared me all along,” Bolivar Coach Rick Rudesill said. “We had tape on him. Sometimes he just floats along and doesn’t do much, but you know it’s there. You know he can step up and take over — and he did.”
Bolivar's season ends on buzzer-beater (Jackson Sun)
Bolivar was supposed to return to prominence and win another state title this trip to the Class AA state tournament. Knoxville Fulton junior Jalen Steele single-handedly changed that.
Steele scored all 20 of his points in the second half and all 15 of the Falcons’ points in the fourth quarter. Most importantly, he hit a short jump shot in the lane as time expired and Fulton beat Bolivar 48-46 in the first Class AA semifinal.
“This one hurts more than any of them,” Bolivar coach Rick Rudesill said. “Because we really felt like this was ours. We had some chances and I’ll take the blame for that.”
Bolivar’s Chris Reaves tied the game at 46 with 32 seconds remaining with an easy layup off an inbounds play.
Ricky Tisdale picked up two fouls on Fulton’s following possession, setting up an inbounds play for the Falcons with 10.4 seconds.
Steele got the ball and took it from there.
“It was crazy,” Steele said. “I was ball-handling then I just started smiling, thinking stuff in my head. Just smiling and I was like, I got it, I got. It went in.”
His teammates mob him as Bolivar’s team stood around, looking shocked.
Bolivar led much of the fourth quarter, until Steele hit a jumper with 2:55 to play. Tisdale matched that shot 30 seconds later. A Steele 3-point play put Fulton up two.
That’s when Reaves tied the game and Bolivar started thinking overtime.
“It’d go to overtime and we’d probably get the win,” Tisdale said.
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