WEST POINT — West Point High School boys basketball coach Brad Cox admitted to having no clue why his team got off to the start it did Tuesday night against New Hope.
After jumping out to an 18-3 lead and coasting to an 82-59 victory in a Class 5A, Region 2, District 1 game, Cox would like to see starts like that more often.
“We have not shot that well and I’m glad we picked tonight to do it,” Cox said. “All year long we’ve been slow starters, but I think the opponent being New Hope at home had a lot to do with us being ready to play, at least I think so because I have no idea how we did that.”
West Point (9-11, 2-2 district) used hot shooting from junior guard Marcquavis Haughton to earn the victory. Haughton was one point from his season average of 14 points per game at halftime. New Hope coach Drew McBrayer pulled out every defensive trick he could — a full-court trap to a less aggressive 2-3 zone — but nothing stopped West Point’s perimeter players from using dribble penetration to get to the rim.
“It was a complete lack of effort on our parts from the start,” McBrayer said. “I don’t think practice will be pleasant for the next couple of days because we have a big game Friday (against Oxford) and I’ve got to find out why my players didn’t want to play tonight.”
After tying the score at 2, West Point scored nine consecutive points and forced McBrayer to use a 30-second timeout less than three minutes into the game. Green Wave senior guard Cortez Malone had 12 of his 26 points in the first half to help West Point take a 20-7 lead after the first eight minutes. The Green Wave led by as many as 19 in the second quarter before trying to bring the tempo down to use the game clock and to stretch out possessions.
“We’ve lost four or five games this year by one or two possessions, so I’m hoping my team is rounding into form at the right time,” Cox said. “That’s the hope at least with the playoffs being closer than we all think.”
Haughton, who also had success going to the basket after defenders stopped giving him a cushion to shoot perimeter jump shots, had 20 points.
West Point led by as many as 30 in the second half.
Jason Tate had a game-high 27 points for New Hope (13-8, 2-1).
West Point (G) 58, New Hope 54
Huge.
That’s the word West Point High School girls basketball coach Murray Woody used to describe his team’s victory Tuesday evening.
The Green Wave (7-12, 2-2) used a 26-8 second-quarter run to take a 12-point halftime lead and then held off the Lady Trojans’ comeback.
“I know how good a coach she is and what she’s done to transform athletes into pure basketball players, so this is so important for our team to get this one,” Woody said of New Hope coach Laura Lee Holman.
West Point used a balanced attack that featured no player with more than nine points to take a 34-22 halftime lead.
Holman was disappointed her young team wasn’t able to capitalize on its size and athletic advantage at nearly every position in the second
quarter.
“My bunch played like a young team for a quarter, and didn’t play like an 18-3 team,” Holman said. “I’m proud of our fight, and this is a night you’re going to have where you have to fight for buckets and stops.”
New Hope (18-4, 2-2) waited until it trailed 40-24 in the middle of the third quarter to build momentum on offense. Sophomore Moesha Calmes led a charge in an 18-6 run that saw the Lady Trojans pull within four in the final quarter.
Calmes and Lauren Holifield led New hope with 14 points. Twelve of Calmes’ points came in the second half, as she found her jump shot and used offensive rebounds to get into a scoring rhythm.
“I knew that if we could get some fast-break buckets then things would bust open, and that just never happened,” Holman said.
New Hope cut it to 52-51 with 40 seconds left after Holifield hit a 3-pointer, but an intentional foul was called on the Lady Trojans on the other end that ended all thoughts of a come-from-behind victory.
“For Oxford to come in and roll us by 50 and have our girls not quit, it’s a huge effort out of my team tonight,” Woody said. “We just hung on, and if there’s another three minutes to this game, we may have lost it.”
Wilma Davis and Nekeisha Walker hit four straight free throws to help West Point survive a final three-minute stretch without a field goal until a layup at the buzzer.
“Keisha is doing a much better job making decisions that are letting us win games,” Woody said. “She did that tonight down the stretch and then stepped up like a leader and made her free throws. I’m proud of her.”
Davis led all scorers with 15 points, and Adrianna Billups added 14.
New Hope outscored West Point 48-32 in the first, third, and fourth quarters.
“If (Holman) gets a chance to put it on me when we see them again in their place, I’m sure she will,” Woody said. “We got outplayed for three quarters, but I’ll take it right now any way I can get it.”
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