WEST POINT — If you”re going to play fast, it”s crucial to play smart.
Each mistake — forced or unforced — gets magnified when you”re up against an equally talented opponent that can match your athleticism.
Despite 11 turnovers through the first three quarters, including four charges, the West Point High School boys basketball team was tied with Oxford at 46.
West Point committed four more turnovers in the final eight minutes, but Oxford”s execution proved to be just a little sharper as it took a 71-61 victory in the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A, Region 1, District 2 title game at West Point High.
Tournament MVP Justin Fondren had 19 points to help the Chargers (16-10) earn the right to play host to a first-round North State playoff game.
Daryl Thomas led West Point (12-13) with 14 points. The Green Wave will travel Tuesday to play at Indianola Gentry at 7 p.m.
“We want to score early or score late,” West Point coach Brad Cox said. “If we want to score early in transition, we can. If we can”t, we need to set it up, run offense, and score late. When you”re going to play that way, you”re going to rely on your players to make lots of decisions, and rely on them to make good decisions, but in a hurry. We”re full speed and you want them to see that at one time and register and set it up.
“For the most part, we do a pretty good job, but there were some decisions in there and some bad shots, but that is going to happen in a ballgame. That is one of the things we have to continue to work on continuing into the playoffs and building a program.”
West Point needed three free throws from LaQuintis Robertson with one second left in overtime Tuesday to beat New Hope to earn a berth in the North State tournament. On Friday, West Point rallied from an eight-point deficit in the first quarter and a nine-point hole in the second quarter. Cox said the fact his team played close games all season made him confident the momentum would swing back in his squad”s favor.
Unfortunately, West Point couldn”t strong together enough plays in the fourth quarter to make it happen. Trailing 57-49 after a dunk by Fondren with 4 minutes, 33 seconds to play, West Point crept back on a layup by No. 12 and an offensive rebound putback by No. 22. Oxford committed a turnover on its next possession, but a turnover prevented West Point from cutting deeper into the deficit.
Two free throws by No. 4 with 1:19 remaining brought the Green Wave within 63-59. Oxford”s Luke Gibbs (13 points) hit 1 of 2 free throws to kick the lead to 64-59, but West Point missed three shots on its next possession, including a 3-pointer from Thomas that was short from the left wing.
Fondren, a 6-foot-1 junior forward, hit 6 of 6 free throws in the final 22 seconds to seal the deal.
“I think he was real tired,” Oxford coach Drew Tyler said. “Justin has always battled with his asthma at the same time, and he was a little leg weary. … I think he (played like our MVP), and he is our most valuable player in Region 2-5A. I expect some big things out of him in this putout game Tuesday night.”
Tyler said he feels his team is peaking at the right time of the season, much like it did last year. Only then, though, the Chargers slipped up in the district title game against New Hope. This year, Oxford learned that lesson and overcame a feisty opponent on its home court.
“In the first half, we didn”t play real smart on the defensive end,” Tyler said. “We were letting them get the ball in high percentage spots, and they scored. In the second half, I thought we did a good job finding their shooters and their scorers, but we didn”t block out on the back side. We made some big plays down the end to push the lead out and win, but we never put them away because they were always on the boards keeping the ball alive.
“I feel like we won the game three different times. We got up three different times and may have lost it twice. They cut it. You expect it. Good teams, in a final game like a district championship, and people are going to make runs at you.”
Gibbs, DeShaun McNeal (18 points), and Nick Brown (11 points) also made the all-tournament team for Oxford. Robertson, Quartez Malone (eight points), and Gaston (10 points) represented West Point, while Lawrence Brown and Jamal Richardson were picked from New Hope.
Cox said Oxford capitalized on its size and length and pounded the offensive boards for easy putbacks. He said the Chargers also got too many baskets in transition against his team”s full-court pressure defense.
Still, he was proud of the way his players fought back from deficits the entire game. He hopes to see the same intensity and better execution when his team takes to the road for its North State opener.
“We want to build a program,” Cox said. “We don”t want to just have a good team, we want to have a program year in and year out. Like I told the guys, it is rare for people to say, ”West Point and basketball and playoffs.” That is where we are. It hurts tonight, and it meant a lot to them to win, but we”re still in the playoffs. The only difference is we have to go on the road. We can still control our own destiny.” We”re going to Gentry on Tuesday night and we”re going to play with everything we got and, hopefully, we come out of there with a win.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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