JACKSON — Starkville High School senior Keith Harris sat at the end of his team’s bench and felt ill.
Harris looked on as his teammates battled Tupelo in the semifinals of the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A State tournament at Mississippi Coliseum.
There was no medicine to make Harris feel better. However, teammate Tyson Carter was there to cheer him up in a hurry.
With Harris and Darrius Agnew saddled with foul trouble, Starkville treaded water for one half before rolling past Tupelo 61-46 on Wednesday night.
Starkville (27-5) will face Columbus (25-5) at 8 p.m. Saturday for the state title. Starkville is looking to repeat as champion, while Columbus is looking for its first title.
“The first half was horrible. I was a cheerleader,” Harris said. “I don’t do that well.”
When Harris and Agnew each drew two first-quarter personal fouls, Starkville went into survival mode. Coach Greg Carter used “a variety of strange lineups” to make sure his team stayed in the game.
One constant, though, was Tyson Carter. He scored the final 12 of his team’s points in the first half as Starkville erased a 19-10 deficit and forged a 25-all tie at halftime.
“I knew my teammates had to have me (in the first half),” Tyson Carter said. “I had to be more vocal. We had to play some players out of position. We were just trying to hang on. Normally, a player takes over a game in the second half. I knew if I didn’t do it in the first half, we were going to be in trouble.”
Starkville appeared very vulnerable in the first 10 minutes. After Carter provided his team a critical lift in the second quarter, a bunch of teammates pitched in in the second half. Six-foot-9 junior center Jesse Little had 19 points and nine rebounds on an 8-for-8 night from the field. Twelve of the points came in the second half. Darius Wilson and Harris also made perimeter shots. On defense, Harris played the entire second half and was the Yellow Jackets’ driving force in taking the Golden Wave out of their offense.
Tupelo (27-6) contributed to its downfall. In the first half, the Golden Wave shot 42.3 percent from the field. In the second half, that number fell to 26.1 percent.
“When we really get everything going, it’s exciting,” said Wilson, a senior. “It’s fun to be out there. When the shots are falling and we are playing that kind of defense we can play, special things can happen. When we get a stop, it lifts everybody on the team.”
The stops were plentiful in the second half.
Starkville led 35-33 when Wilson hit a 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter. Harris scored to start the fourth quarter. Little then drove to the basket, drew a foul, and hit two free throws. Leading 44-36, Starkville reeled off six-straight points and the crowd started to buzz about the thought of a state championship matchup between schools 25 miles apart.
“It’s exciting to be in this position,” Starkville senior Jamal Williams said. “A lot of people don’t get to play for a state championship. To be able to do it two-straight years is special. To be part of this team as a senior trying to win another championship is special.”
Greg Carter said his team has benefited greatly from five wins in the Jackson area in the last two seasons.
“It’s a huge advantage,” Greg Carter said. “It means a lot to have played here in this arena in this tournament. I think it gives the guys a very high confidence level. I have brought other teams here that were more talented but couldn’t handle this situation as well.
“To have had this experience a year ago has been huge. I am proud of the kids for battling tonight. We had some things go against us in the first half, but we kept battling.”
Wilson agreed with his Carter’s assessment.
“We love playing here,” Wilson said. “It looks like we go to a different level as a team. Last year, everything was new. This year, we haven’t been caught up in the hype. We just play and try to get everything going.”
Everything was going in the second half. Tupelo had no answers as one possession ended on a break-away dunk by Carter and another ended in a Harris deflection and transition basket. Starkville got virtually all of the loose balls and Tupelo’s confidence shrunk as its field goal percentage fell.
“We try to get in the other team’s head,” Harris said. “That is when we know we are playing great defense. You can tell when that happened tonight.”
Agnew also made his presence felt when he returned to the lineup with three blocked shots.
Starkville held a plus-15 rebounding advantage and shot 54.5 percent from the field.
“It was all working,” Williams said. “We have to do that one more time.”
Even in the first half when it wasn’t working, it was working. Carter missed back-to-back 3-pointers with his team down six points. After the second miss, Carter locked up the Tupelo point guard, stripped the ball, and coasted to the other end for a layup. It was a game-changing play even though it didn’t appear that way at the time. As the game wore on, the game-changing plays mounted and all of them appeared to go the Yellow Jackets’ way.
On Saturday, Starkville and Columbus will meet for the third time this season. Each won convincingly at home.
“I didn’t play in the loss at Columbus,” Harris said. “I was a cheerleader that night, too. I didn’t enjoy it that night, either.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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