Brandon Wallace is a Class 2A state champion again.

As a player in 2003, his late tip-in gave Silver Bluff a dramatic 59-58 win over favored Calhoun County at Colonial Life Arena.

Flash forward to 20 years later and, in his first year as head coach, he's led the Gray Collegiate Academy girls to their first-ever Class 2A championship.

The Lady War Eagles defeated Bishop England 40-32 at the University of South Carolina-Aiken Convocation Center.

Maliyiah Mason and Jordan Mintz led Gray Collegiate with 11 points each, and Kadence Walker-Lee added nine, including a critical three-point play late in the game.

Both Mason and Mintz left the game briefly in the first half after taking hard hits.

It happened to Mason in the opening seconds of the game. As Mason drove to the basket for the game’s opening points, she was knocked to the floor by Izzy Woods.

Team trainers rushed to Mason as she grimaced on the floor. After getting upright, Mason was helped up and sprinted to the bench.

The Lady War Eagles continued to have control of the game in her absence. They jumped out to an 8-0 lead as the Lady Bishops missed their first six shots and finished 1-9 from the field in the first quarter.

Mintz carried the offense in the first half with all 11 of her points. She found the range from behind the arc, connecting on back-to-back three-pointers to extend Gray Collegiate’s lead to 16-5 in the second quarter.

A free throw by Walker-Lee and a putback by Mason gave Gray Collegiate a 19-5 advantage with 5:27 left in the first half. The Lady War Eagles then went scoreless for five minutes and saw Mintz also helped off the floor after Bishop England’s Evelyn Kitchin fell on top of her during a rebound.

A three-pointer by Diamond Tatum with 27 seconds left ended Bishop England’s 6-0 run, with all points scored by Madison Riley, and gave Gray Collegiate a 22-11 halftime lead.

Riley finished with 10 points for the Lady Bishops, who got 11 from Woods.

Another 6-0 run by the Lady Bishops enabled them to reduce Gray Collegiate’s lead. This included two free throws by Woods from a technical foul called on Mason. After Mason was fouled by Lilly Hodge, she turned to pivot in her direction with the basketball and ended up knocking her to the floor.

Bishop England outscored Gray Collegiate 10-3 in the third quarter to make it 25-21.

The fourth quarter saw the Lady War Eagles will their team to victory. Both Mason and Walker-Lee had key baskets in the paint to keep Gray Collegiate in the lead.

The Lady Bishops refused to go quietly as Woods’ three-point play brought them within 32-30 with 2:14 left.

Wallace remained calm on the sidelines, reflecting on his experience from 20 years ago to keep his players calm also.

“I was thinking 20 years ago, the game ain’t over until it’s over,” Wallace said. “So I just wanted to make sure that we secured the rebounds, make free throws and we can win.”

With 1:14 left, Walker-Lee converted a three-point play to give the War Eagles a 35-30 lead. Two free throws by Riley were Bishop England’s last points of the game as Gray Collegiate converted 5-8 free throws in the final seconds to seal the victory.

“For a first-year coach, it’s a coach’s dream,” Wallace said. “Obviously, you get a job, you want to build a program, one that competes for state championships. But having that actually happen."

"I felt like we had the talent, I knew a lot of work had to be done. Those girls they fought all season, they believed in it, they trusted in the process, and it ended up working out for us.”

Gray Collegiate finished with a 22-6 record and a 10-game winning streak.