PHEBA — Alec Vasquez took care of the first half. R.J. DeLoach handled the second.
And just like that, the Columbus Christian Academy boys basketball team displayed Friday why it will enter the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class A, District 3 tournament as the No. 1 seed with a 54-46 victory at Hebron Christian School.
Vasquez, Columbus Christian’s starting shooting guard, scored eight of his 13 points in the opening half to help the Rams build a 25-15 halftime lead. DeLoach, who had two points in the first three quarters, scored 13 of his team-high 15 points in the final period to help Columbus Christian put Hebron Christian away.
“It wasn’t my game at first,” said DeLoach, who made 9 of 10 free throws down the stretch to help Columbus Christian escape. “I just couldn’t get it going. I only had two points, but when the fourth quarter started, my coach came up to me and said, ‘This is your game now,’ and I couldn’t let him down after that. I had to make plays for my team.”
DeLoach triggered a 22-point fourth quarter explosion for the Rams (19-4), who needed every point to hold off an opponent that refused to go away quietly. Behind a game-high 19 points from post player Channing Tapley, Hebron Christian chipped away at Columbus Christian’s halftime lead, cutting the advantage of as low 30-25 late in the third quarter. But two free throws by Vasquez ignited an 11-0 run that pushed the lead to 41-25 early in the fourth quarter. DeLoach never let his team look back.
For Columbus Christian coach Greg Watkins, the fight his team showed was a welcome sight.
“I’m normally a guy who is up yelling, getting excited,” Watkins said. “But before the game tonight, I talked to the kids and just told them to go out and have fun. We already knew we were going to be the No. 1 seed out of the district, so tonight was just about playing good solid basketball.”
That started with Vasquez and a suffocating defense. Sinking a pair of 3-pointers, Vasquez scored six first-quarter points and entered the halftime break with eight.
“I was just feeling it,” Vasquez said. “Sometimes I get hot. Sometimes other guys get hot. We all trust each other, and we just go out and get the job done.”
Hebron Christian never could get started in the first half, suffering through nearly as many turnovers (13) as points (15).
“We turned the ball over too much, missed way too many free throws,” said Braxton Franks, who stepped in to coach the Eagles in the absence of his father, Bruce, who missed the game due to a medical issue. “Too many turnovers, too many missed free throws. … That just dug us a hole that we could never get out of.”
But Hebron Christian tried.
Despite the offensive heroics of Vasquez and DeLoach, the Eagles cut the lead to single digits on multiple occasions in the fourth quarter. When Tapley scored on an offensive putback with three minutes left, the Eagles had cut the lead to 47-39. But on Columbus Christian’s next possession, DeLoach hit a layup and completed a three-point play that sealed the deal. Columbus Christian will be the top seed for the district tournament, which will begin the week of Feb. 2 at Central Academy in Macon.
“These guys play extremely well together,” Watkins said. “There is no star on this team, and none of these guys want to be. It can be a different guy every single night scoring points, and that’s just fine with my guys. Tonight, those two (Vasquez and DeLoach) really stepped up offensively.”
They weren’t the only ones. KC Cunningham had 12 points, including seven of Columbus Christian’s first nine points in the fourth quarter. Guard Koby Bailey added seven points.
Bailey also was involved in a fourth-quarter incident that threatened to overshadow the final score. After Bailey was fouled by guard Colin Moore, the two exchanged words and shoves, as each player shoved the other while teammates and officials rushed in to keep the situation from escalating. The two were separated, and neither returned to the game. It was a moment that epitomized a tense night at the school.
“This is a big rivalry,” said Watkins, who coached Hebron Christian’s basketball team earlier in his career. “Both teams are good, and this is a fun, loud gym to play in. Emotions were high. That’s all it was.”
His counterpart agreed.
“It was very intense tonight,” Franks said. “They have a good basketball team.”
Tapley added nine rebounds, while guard Clay Falkner had 11 points. Junior Landon Hill led Hebron with 13 rebounds.
Forward Jaborris Frazier paced Columbus Christian with eight rebounds.
Girls
n Hebron Christian 49, Columbus Christian 34
The Lady Eagles opened the game on an 8-0 run and started the fourth quarter with a 9-0 spurt to ward off a game effort by the Lady Rams.
The Lady Eagles, who led 21-8 at halftime, led by as many as 22 points in the second half.
Forward Victoria Ferguson paced Hebron Christian with 14 points, while Rebekah Falkner added 11 and Brooke Griffin 10.
“We played well, but the girls are capable of playing better,” said Franks, who substituted for his father in both games. “I don’t know if we got complacent (after building the big lead), but we just didn’t put the game away. Credit goes to Columbus Christian for fighting us hard.”
Columbus Christian’s Mikaela Green had 12 of her game-high 15 points in the second half. Anna Minga added 11 for the Lady Rams.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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