WEST POINT — The West Point High School boys basketball team was looking for a spark tied with Noxubee County entering the final quarter Tuesday night.
Junior forward Demarius Calvert responded by helping to fuel a 14-4 run that pushed West Point to a 73-62 victory.
The performance came on the heels of an emotional victory Friday against Starkville.
“I was just worried on how we would start the ball game and where our focus would be,” West Point head coach Brad Cox said. “These are our two biggest rivals, Starkville and Noxubee, and for us to beat our two biggest rivals back to back gives us a lot of momentum. I still don’t think we played very well, but to come out against a good Noxubee team with a win and not playing very well, has to leave us feeling pretty well, especially if we can fix those little things we’re not doing right gives us a chance to make a run when the playoffs come.”
Last season, West Point used a strong finish to win the school’s first region championship since 1989. The success made the squad hungry and had it ready to go when this season started.
“We want to be playing our best in January,” Cox said. “We’re making these mistakes now, seeing what our weaknesses are against some good teams. We got Starkville, Noxubee, and Aberdeen, and that’s three good ones in a row. If you have a weakness, those three teams are going to exploit it for you, and that’s why we have the schedule like we do.”
West Point struggled early in the season last year. However, success down the stretch encouraged the players to work harder in the offseason. It also set the tone for the fans and community to rally around the team.
“It’s a good win,” West Point senior shooting guard Peair Howard said. “Everybody’s hyped. The fans are hyped, we are hyped, and we know going into the game we are just going to have to keep the intensity up. We can’t go out there flat or down. We have to go out there and knock down shots, play defense, the whole nine yards.”
Calvert finished with 18 points. His late offensive burst meant trouble for Noxubee County, which never could build a substantial lead. The Green Wave’s length and athleticism helped them get second chances.
“In the third quarter, I was fine where we were at,” Noxubee County coach T.J. Billups. “We are definitely going to be undersized all year, and West Point has a huge team. Their size began to take over in the fourth quarter, and we made some key turnovers. We also weren’t disciplined enough in our zone, and they took advantage of that.”
West Point spent early stretches looking for better ball movement, but an inability to get good looks inside proved frustrating. Cox encouraged his team to take a slower approach on offense and to be more patient.
“We kind of let their press rush us,” Cox said. “We took some bad shots instead of breaking the full-court press and being patient trying to get a good shot. We worked around and were able to get the ball in the middle against the zone a few times. I felt Diquan Ewing really had his best game. We got it to him at the free-throw line and he made the right decision, whether it was to kick it out for a three or dump it in to the low post. He made a lot of good decisions for us.”
Howard said the coach’s encouragement at halftime was huge. West Point has typically played strong defense under Cox. The challenge for the Green Wave was to mix the patience on offense with rugged defense.
“We went in there during halftime and coach Cox said we needed to rebound, stop the penetration, and put hands in there face,” Howard said. “After the third quarter, we all talked and made a commitment to each other that we were going to go out there and fight for it.”
Lacking size and depth, the Tigers needed senior shooting guard Jamarri Johnson to be at his best. He gave them all he could, scoring a team high 25 points.
“Jamarri, he’s been playing the last two years, and is one of our better players,” Billups said. “He’s been playing great for us. He has to play almost perfect for us to give us a chance to win because of our lack of size and depth.”
The Green Wave also received a 19-point lift from their bench. A season ago, depth issues plagued the squad. Cox feels the squad can go much deeper this season. Quality minutes by the reserves will make for a more balanced team.
“We really feel like we’re 10 deep,” Cox said. “This is the third game with our football players, and a lot of little things have changed, inbound plays, the way we guard, and our pick n’ roll, just because our personnel is different this year. We have changed a lot of things like that, and our players are still trying to adjust to it. We feel like we have some players at every position that if someone isn’t playing well that one night, that someone can step up and fill their shoes for them. In a game like Noxubee where it’s up and down, having some depth where nobody is getting tired or in foul trouble helps you a lot.”
West Point will look to continue its streak Friday against Aberdeen, while Noxubee County will try to bounce back Saturday night against Kemper County in DeKalb.
“We just got to pick it up,” West Point junior point guard A.J. Jones said. “When it is a big rival game, you have to want it more. That is what we have done this week.”
Girls
Noxubee County overcame a slow start to post a 58-51 victory.
“It was one of those wins that we needed,” Billups said. “We started out sloppy, and I think we made some adjustments in the second half. The second half still wasn’t great, but we were able to hold onto the lead. West Point did a great job on coming back in the second half. Our guard play with Tradeshia Conner (Noxubee sophomore point guard who scored nine points), Jasmone Brown (junior shooting guard, six points), and Alternitris Brewer (junior point guard, 21) was great, but I think they need to learn to play together more and more under control.”
Brewer had five of her points in the fourth quarter.
Diayon Bailey led West Point with 18 points.
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