STARKVILLE — It was a classic Columbus High School-Starkville High showdown.
With big play after big play, clutch shot after clutch shot, Friday night’s Class 6A, Region 3 opener between the schools was intense, and it was back-and-forth.
Then it wasn’t.
In a game that featured seven lead changes in the fourth quarter, Starkville scored the final eight points in a wild final 12 seconds to earn a 53-46 win in front of a standing-room only crowd.
“It turned out to be a classic Starkville-Columbus basketball game,” said Starkville coach Greg Carter, whose team improved to 8-0 and 1-0 in the region. “Our guys kept making plays.”
The late run came from the free-throw line, where the Yellow Jackets made 7 of 8 in the final 12 seconds. How that happened was the story.
With Starkville in possession of the ball and nursing a two-point lead thanks to a pair of free throws from guard Darius Wilson, the Yellow Jackets drained the clock from 45 seconds down to 12, as Columbus attempted to go for a steal before settling for a foul. Following the foul, the fifth on Columbus forward Jay Jay Swanigan, the Falcons were assessed a technical foul for not substituting a new player in the allotted 30 seconds. That gave Starkville two free throws and the ball in addition to the two free throws Starkville guard Tyson Carter was scheduled to shoot.
“I give all the credit in the world to Starkville,” Columbus coach Sammy Smith said. “They made plays, they were the better team with the better coaches tonight. I was not a good coach. But I do not understand how that call was made. There was no warning, there was no sign to tell me that call was coming. I was simply trying to substitute a player and was told I did not do so in time. We will take the loss, and Starkville deserves the win, but I do not understand how that call was made.”
On the other bench, Starkville’s coaching staff was no less confused.
“In high school basketball, you have 30 seconds to substitute a player once someone fouls out,” Carter said. “Sometimes they give you a little more time, sometimes they don’t. I guess they decided Columbus went over that time, I don’t know.”
Ultimately, Starkville guard Tyson Carter, the coach’s son, made 5 of 6 free throws to put the finishing touches on a 21-point, six-rebound, five-assist effort that helped his team seal a victory that wasn’t easy.
After the teams were tied at 22 at halftime, Starkville used a 12-8 third-quarter run to lead by four entering the fourth quarter. Columbus (7-1, 0-1) led by one four times in the fourth quarter, the last being a 46-45 advantage after a pair of free throws by guard Javonta McDavid.
But when Columbus forward Robert Woodard, who was the Falcons’ best player with 20 points and eight rebounds, fouled out with 90 seconds left, the tide turned in favor of the Yellow Jackets. Helping turn that tide turn were underclassmen, Carter and Wilson, who combined for 12 points in the fourth quarter.
“We’ve been working all week because we knew this would be a tough game,” Tyson Carter said. “They kept fighting back every time we got a lead. It was a great game, felt good to get the win.”
Wilson, the son of former Mississippi State sharpshooter Darryl Wilson, scored all 10 of his points after the midway point of the third quarter. That included two 3-pointers that kept the Yellow Jackets in front.
“He has been our best 3-point shooter,” Greg Carter said of Wilson. “Those were two huge shots. They kept us in the lead. That was the thing about tonight. Every time Columbus would catch us, we’d make a shot or make a play to get the lead back. We never had to play uphill and try to catch them, which was big.”
The coach’s son agreed.
“Darius was real big tonight,” Tyson Carter said. “Those shots were huge, they helped us out a lot.”
For Columbus, which trailed by two points before the final flurry of free throws, the free-throw line was critical to the outcome. While the Jackets made 15 of 20 shots from the foul line, the Falcons were 15 of 32, good for less than 50 percent.
Carter’s 21 points led all scorers. Senior guard Josh Skinner added 11 for Starkville. Sophomore center Jesse Little had eight points and a game-high 16 rebounds, a stat that went a long way in helping Starkville beat a bigger Columbus team.
“They were big rebounds, too,” Greg Carter said of Little’s performance. “We needed those rebounds in the fourth quarter, and he went up and got them.”
Swanigan added seven points for the Falcons, while McDavid and Chris Deloach had five.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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