STARKVILLE – New Hope High senior basketball player Lawrence Brown had a lot of fun Thursday afternoon.
Brown scored 29 points and pulled down 15 rebounds as the Trojans hustled past East Oktibbeha 73-64 in a second-round game at the Travis Outlaw Slam Dunk at the Hump holiday basketball tournament being played at the Humphrey Coliseum on the Mississippi State University campus.
“Sometimes you watch the Mississippi State games on TV, and you think, man I sure would like to play in the Hump one day,” said Brown, the Trojans’ 6-foot-5 center. “Then when you get to do that, it is an amazing experience. I knew this was a big day and I had to go out there with a bang.
“This experience was everything that I thought it would be and then some.”
Playing for the first time in nine days, the Trojans appeared lethargic on offense and apathetic on defense. Still, New Hope chipped away from an early 10-point deficit and only trailed 39-37 at half.
“We had not played in close to two weeks and it certainly showed,” New Hope coach Drew McBrayer said.
“We came out lazy and not ready to play. There was certainly some rust involved, too. In the second half, we pressured the ball and played much better defense. That turned the game in our favor.”
New Hope had better offensive production in the second half, thanks to working the ball more inside-out. On the defensive end, full-court defensive pressure really bothered the Titans and forced some easy transition baskets.
“We came out with a lot more energy in the second half,” New Hope senior guard Jock Pilgrim said. “We had teamwork and we played harder. We knew the key to winning the basketball game was to play better on the defensive end.
“We struggled in the first half but took things over there in the second half.”
The Trojans slowly snuffed East Oktibbeha’s hopes with a steady trek to the free throw line. Traditionally a good free throwing team this year, New Hope was 22-of-36 at the charity stripe in this contest, including an amazing 13-of-24 in the second half.
“Once we started playing more inside-out, it was our kind of basketball game,” Brown said. “That allowed us to do what we do best. When we run the floor and play with intensity, we are at our best. It allows us get some easy baskets in transition.
“The whole thing is playing with intensity. We did a better job of that in the second half.”
New Hope (7-4) took control of the contest with an 8-2 run during the first couple of minutes of the third quarter. A putback by Brown and one of two free throws by Brown placed the Trojans ahead 47-43. The Trojans would go to the foul line on three of the game’s next four possessions, while stretching the lead to 54-45.
East Oktibbeha went more than three minutes without scoring and finished the third quarter with only 10 points. A basket by Devontae Lucious brought the Titans within 56-49 as the quarter expired.
“We played much better defense in the second half,” McBrayer said. “Our improved defense led to better offense on the other end. Offensively, I really like where this team is right now. However, defensively we have a lot to work on. We have to do better at stopping penetration and do a better job of rebounding.
“When everybody is into it and everybody is guarding hard, we have the potential to be a good defensive team. We just have to do it more consistently.”
Lucious followed with back-to-baskets to bring East Oktibbeha within 56-53 less than a minute into the final quarter. New Hope quickly expanded the lead back out to double digits with an 11-3 run, which saw Brown devour everything inside the paint.
“(Brown) has been our leading scorer all year from game one,” McBrayer said. “We would not be where we are right now without him. He works hard and goes after every basketball on each end of the floor. We get a lot of easy baskets because of his determination as a rebounder.”
For the Trojans, it was the first of two games in the coliseum. New Hope will be back at it at 12:30 p.m. today facing Jackson Olin, Ala.
“It was very exciting to play on Mississippi State’s home court,” Pilgrim said. “It was a great opportunity and we wanted to make the most of it by showing everybody what kind of team we have. When we played with intensity and focus, we can beat good teams.”
Brown was trailed in the scoring column by Pilgrim with 17 points and Jason Tate with 16 points.
East Oktibbeha, which beat Kosciusko 75-70 in overtime Wednesday in this event, got 36 points from Lucious and 17 points from Chris Harris.
The Titans will complete three games in three days at this event by facing Louisville at 11 a.m. today.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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