JACKSON — Demetrice Clopton still couldn’t believe it.
A little more than an hour after helping the Columbus High School boys basketball team beat Starkville for the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A State title, Clopton almost believed he was going to have to run suicides and sprints Monday in practice.
While Clopton didn’t have to do that work for Columbus coach Luther Riley, the Falcons’ 37-33 victory Saturday at Mississippi Coliseum wasn’t the end to Clopton’s senior season. That ending will come at 7 p.m. Friday in the 26th-annual Mississippi-Alabama All-Star Games, which are sponsored by the Mississippi Association of Coaches and the Alabama High School Athletic Association.
The girls game, which will begin at 5 p.m., and the boys game will be at Mississippi College’s A.E. Wood Coliseum in Clinton. Starkville High’s Tyson Carter will join Clopton on the 12-player boys team that will represent the state of Mississippi.
Clopton scored six points, grabbed four rebounds, blocked three shots, and made two steals to help Columbus dethrone Starkville, the 2015 Class 6A champion, and win its first state title in boys basketball. The 6-foot-8 Clopton played a key role on both ends of the floor in the second half to help the Falcons rally from a 17-14 halftime deficit. He was 3 of 7 from the field, which included strong moves in the paint. He also had a key defensive play when he drew an offensive foul on Carter at three-quarter court.
“Once you practice with coach Riley all through the summer, all of the hard suicides and hard work he is going to put in on you, you can do just about anything,” Clopton said. “He will make sure you are prepared and he is prepared foe what is about to happen.”
Clopton said the hard work the Falcons invested in the summer paid off in their run to the state title. He said defense was the key to that march because it helped Columbus overcome mistakes. He pointed to his ability to be aggressive and show on a screen designed for Carter on the play in which he drew a foul as a perfect example.
“I knew my teammates needed me and I needed them,” Clopton said. “The only way I was going to be able to complete that mission was to help them out so they could help me out so we could get this right here (pointing to his championship medal).”
Clopton, who will attend Jackson State in the fall, said he changed a lot from the beginning of the season and is a more positive player. He added that he feels he has “more grind to his game” and that he is able to fight through adversity better. His moves in the paint showed that determination, including one where he went across the lane to the left side to go to his strong hand and finish at the rim.
Moves like that are ones that help get players out of practice a day or two after winning a state title.
“It feels like a dream right now,” Clopton said. “From the summer workouts we had to the championship game, it was hard. I couldn’t believe we were going to be champions. We were working hard doing suicides and sprints, and those two words meant a lot because we worked hard for what we got today.”
Both games will be available for broadcast through Internet live streaming by clicking on the FNUTL Network icon at fnutl.com.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.