By Carlton D. White

cwhite@mdjonline.com

MACON - Leading by one at halftime, Wesleyan outscored Whitefield Academy by eight in the third quarter and went on to win 63-52 in Saturday's Class A boys basketball championship at the Macon Centreplex.

Andrew Frerking made four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as Wesleyan denied Whitefield a shot at back-to-back state championships.

Whitefield (28-4) was held to one field goal in the third quarter on Tekele Cotton's putback. Plagued by foul trouble, Cotton and leading scorer Kenneth Gaines were both called for their fourth fouls in the third, allowing Wesleyan (26-6) to take advantage.

Tied at 27-all after two free throws from Whitefield's Chris Lovelace, Wesleyan went on an 8-0 run with Cotton on the bench and took a 35-27 lead with 2:54 on the clock. Gaines was called for his fourth with 2 minutes left as the Wolves took a 38-29 advantage into the fourth quarter.

"(Wesleyan) wanted it more in the third quarter," said Whitefield coach Tyrone Johnson, who saw his team's 11-game win streak snapped. "They could smell a state championship coming out of the locker room at halftime. They beat us in transition, outrebounded us and played with more intensity than we did. That's the most disappointing part - we didn't play with the level of intensity that we usually play with."

Frerking finished with a game-high 26 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, as Wesleyan answered every run Whitefield threw at it in the second half.

Cotton's jumper at 7:42 left Whitefield trailing 38-31. A steal by Lovelace led to a breakaway for Kennard Backman, but he missed the wide-open dunk, and Frerking answered with a 3-pointer to put the Wolves on top by 10. Another 3 from Frerking gave Wesleyan a 44-33 lead with 6:35 remaining, and his third straight 3 had Wesleyan leading 47-34 with 5:33 left.

After two free throws from the Wolves' Griffin Schamp, Whitefield pulled within six behind a field goal from Cotton and three-point play from Gaines. A charging foul against Schamp gave Whitefield possession, but the Wolfpack couldn't capitalize.

After Gaines fouled out with 3:42 on the clock, Lovelace scored on a jumper and Frerking was called for traveling, giving the Wolfpack, who trailed 51-45, possession of the ball.

Again, Whitefield couldn't score, and back-to-back layups from Frerking and Shane Smith put Wesleyan back up by 10.

Whitefield cut the lead to seven after a free throw from Backman and putback from Lovelace, but Frerking drained his sixth 3-pointer of the contest with 1:30 remaining, giving Wesleyan a 58-48 advantage.

Wesleyan, which made 23 of 34 free throws in the game, went 5-of-6 in the final minute to seal the victory.

"Frerking did a nice job knocking down 3s," Johnson said. "It's like the guys forgot about the details in the scouting report. We knew he was a 3-point shooter, but most of his attempts were uncontested. It's disappointing, and doesn't leave a pleasant taste in my mouth.

"I'm proud of us for getting here, but I'm not proud of our performance. There was a level of apathy in our effort. I didn't see the level of intensity to represent who we are."

Four Whitefield players finished the game with four fouls and the Wolfpack could never get into a rhythm offensively in the first half.

Whitefield, which led 13-11 at the end of the first quarter, sat its starters with foul trouble for several stretches of the game. On the day, the Wolfpack were called for 29 fouls to the Wolves' 22.

"The fouls made it difficult for us, but this is the state championship, and that's difficult to win," Johnson said. "You need to be able to adjust. From the fans' perspective, it was probably a confusing and ugly level of play that was difficult to enjoy."

Cotton led with 18 points for Whitefield. Backman scored nine of his 11 points in the first half and added a game-high 13 rebounds. Lovelace, who had five steals, scored 11 fourth-quarter points and finished with 16.

Smith had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Wesleyan, while Schamp added nine points and six boards.