MEMPHIS, Tenn. — West Point High School took the road for a successful weekend of basketball action.
Fresh off a Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A, Region 2 win Friday at Oxford High, West Point defeated Noxubee County 52-46 Saturday afternoon at FedEx Forum.
Playing as part of the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies’ High School Showcase Series, West Point won its first two series meetings against Noxubee County. Both teams — as well as two schools’ girls teams — then were special guests for the Grizzlies’ home game against the Sacramento Kings.
Shaunderrious Westbrook had 15 points for West Point. He was the only player in double figures for either team.
West Point beat Noxubee County 55-47 in the girls game Saturday afternoon.
On Friday night, the West Point boys clinched the top seed in the region tournament, which begins Feb. 16 in Oxford, with a 76-73 victory against Oxford.
The Green Wave led 36-25 at halftime and stretched the lead to as many as 20 before surviving a furious rally by the Chargers.
The victory was a reversal of fortunate as West Point had rallied from fourth-quarter deficits in the fourth quarter of each of its first three region wins.
A.J. McFarland led West Point with 20 points and seven assists. Westbrook had 18 points, Austin Crowley had 16, and Kelly Martin had 15.
West Point is 12-11 and 4-0 in region play. The Green Wave is above .500 for the first time this season and holds a two-game lead with two region games remaining. Oxford is 2-2 in region play, while New Hope and Saltillo are each 1-3. West Point earns the region’s top seed by virtue of its regular-season sweep of Oxford.
The West Point girls dropped a 56-49 decision to Oxford.
Now at 16-7 and 2-2 in region play, West Point is tied with New Hope for second place in the region standings. Oxford is 4-0 in region play but still needs one more region win or a New Hope region loss to clinch the top seed. Saltillo is 0-4 in region play.
West Point built a 10-point lead in the first quarter and still led 26-20 at the intermission. Oxford took the lead for good in the third quarter.
Qiayon Bailey led the Lady Wave with 13 points.
West Point will play host to New Hope on Tuesday night. Noxubee County will play Tuesday at Caledonia.
Prior to heading to Memphis, Noxubee County split a pair of Class 4A, Region 4 games against Louisville.
The Noxubee County boys (3-18, 1-4 region) surrendered a 28-18 halftime lead while dropping a 57-52 decision.
n New Hope sweeps Saltillo: At Columbus, senior Heratio Jackson scored a career-high 25 points as the New Hope boys beat Saltillo 58-54 Friday night in another Class 5A, Region 2 game.
New Hope snapped a six-game losing streak while moving to 12-9 and 1-3 in region play. The Trojans had dropped a region games to each of their three region rivals in the first rotation through region play.
New Hope avenged a four-point loss at Saltillo earlier in the season.
Toddy Jennings added 16 points, while Terryonte Thomas had four points, 16 assists, and 14 rebounds. Jackson led the way with six 3-pointers.
The New Hope girls improved to 7-12 and 2-2 in region play with a 62-24 win against Saltillo.
The Lady Trojans used a 21-0 showing in the first quarter to roll to the victory.
n Starkville sweeps Northwest Rankin: At Starkville, the Starkville girls moved within one win of an undefeated run through Class 6A, Region 3 play with a 46-22 victory against Northwest Rankin on Friday night at the Bee Hive.
The Lady Jackets ended the first half with a 10-0 run for a 23-8 halftime lead.
Starkville improved to 18-2 and 5-0 in region play. Kelsey Jones had 16 points to lead the Lady Jackets. Starkville will be the top seed in the region tournament, which begins Feb. 16 at Northwest Rankin.
On the boys side, Starkville rolled past Northwest Rankin, 72-56. Tyson Carter hit six 3-pointers in the first half as Starkville built a 50-26 halftime lead.
Starkville improved to 19-4 and 4-1 in region play. Carter had 29 points, while Markedric Bell added 10. Jesse Little had nine points and six rebounds. Starkville took over first place in the region race Friday night thanks to Callaway’s 63-60 loss to Madison Central on Friday night.
Starkville can secure the top spot with a win Friday at Madison Central.
n Columbus sweeps Forest Hill: At Jackson, the Lady Falcons and Falcons stepped outside of region play to pick up a pair of wins on the road Friday night.
The Columbus boys earned a 63-50 victory, while the Columbus girls improved to 12-5 with a 57-55 win.
For the Falcons, Robert Woodard II had 22 points, while Antavious McDyess had 13 points and 13 rebounds. Javontae McDavid had 13 points.
For the Lady Falcons, Rokila Wallace and Zaria Jenkins each had 15 points, while Kayla Rogers had 13 points.
Columbus will play host to Tupelo on Tuesday in a Class 6A, Region 3 doubleheader.
n West Lowndes sweeps Sebastopol: At Sebastopol, the West Lowndes boys kept chugging along on top of the Class 1A, Region 6 standings with a 75-63 win Friday night at Sebastopol.
Coach Danny Crawford’s squad moved to 15-6 and 4-0 in region play. Darius Hankins led the Panthers with 16 points.
The West Lowndes girls moved to 11-10 and 2-2 in region play with a 61-53 win at Sebastopol.
West Lowndes squads were scheduled to play host to Pickens County on Saturday night.
n Nettleton sweeps Aberdeen: At Aberdeen, the Aberdeen boys suffered their first loss in Class 4A, Region 3 play with a 64-61 setback to Nettleton on Friday night. The Aberdeen girls opened the doubleheader with a 35-31 win.
The Aberdeen boys are 9-14 and 3-1 in region play, while the Aberdeen girls are 12-9 and 2-2 in region play.
n In Class 4A, Region 4 play Friday night, Caledonia lost twice at home to Kosciusko. The Confederates dropped a 67-55 decision, while the Lady Feds lost 48-24.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.