GRENADA — The Columbus High School boys basketball team opened the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A State tournament with a 67-47 win against Grenada on Tuesday night.
“We have a young team,” Columbus coach Sammy Smith said. “Even though these guys have played a lot of minutes this season, this was still something new for them. We didn’t have any guys who on the floor who had played in a put-out situation like that in the playoffs before.
“When you are on the road, you are down 10 points immediately. When you are on the road in a put-out situation, it feels like you are down 15 points. I told the guys it was natural to be nervous and to be tight. You just have to play through that.”
Columbus (22-6) will play at 7 p.m. Saturday at Horn Lake in the second round. A win would advance the Falcons to the quarterfinal round in Jackson.
“Every player on the team took coaching tonight,” Smith said. “They didn’t play to the best of their abilities, but they played awfully well. I told the guys if you are confused and you need something look to me and I won’t let you down. When you have players that don’t have a lot of playoff experience, they have to depend on the coaches. The coaches here have been through a lot of these guys. We collaborated on a great game plan. I thought the kids did a great job with it. If there was confusion, they looked around for help. It was a total team effort.
“We played like I thought we would. After the disappointment of last week (a third-place finish in the region tournament), we came out hungry and determined.”
Robert Woodard led Columbus with 22 points, while Javontae McDavid had 15.
n Aberdeen 84, North
Pontotoc 49: At Aberdeen, the Bulldogs opened the Class 3A playoffs with an easy win.
Aberdeen (23-6) will play host to East Side (18-10) at 7 p.m. Saturday in the second round. A win would advance the Bulldogs to the quarterfinals in Jackson.
“It is good to start the second season off with a win,” Aberdeen coach Jaworski Rankin said. “You can’t take anyone for granted in the playoffs. We knew we had to come out with a lot of intensity and the guys really did that. We played well in the region tournament and that carried over to this game.”
Marcus Carouthers was 16 of 19 from the field for a game-high 40 points for Aberdeen. Queshod Young had 17 points and three assists.
Jatavius Dobbs and Trent Davis shared game-high honors with 10 rebounds apiece for the Bulldogs.
n Neshoba Central 77, West Point 62: At Philadelphia, the Green Wave saw the season end at 16-15 with a first-round loss in the Class 5A playoffs.
“I am proud of the guys for working really hard all year,” West Point coach Brad Cox said. “We finished with a winning record and a playoff appearance, which is more than many people expected. We will our seniors and our younger guys are ready to get back at it. I am really proud of how these guys represented their school and our town.”
Ecurb Forest led the Green Wave with 30 points in his final game.
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