For New Hope senior JaQuante Bell, it was a matter of slowing things down.
In his first game against his former team, Bell admitted to first-half nervousness and anxiousness.
Once those feelings went away, West Lowndes offered little resistance to the 6-foot-5, 245-pound forward.
Bell scored 22 second-half points as New Hope erased a 12-point deficit to knock off West Lowndes 64-52 in prep basketball action Tuesday night at Trojan Gym.
“I was out of sorts in the first half,” Bell said. “Coaches told me at halftime to calm down and do the things that come to me naturally. Once I did that, things got a whole lot better.”
New Hope senior Terryonte Thomas is the squad’s top recruit. He is excited to have other players, such as Bell, to carry the workload.
“Things are so much easier when we have a couple of guys in rhythm,” Thomas said. “It’s a relief knowing that I don’t have to score every night for the team to win. We just try to play within our system. When we defend and rebound, we can be difficult to beat.”
New Hope (9-2) won its ninth straight with one half of splendid defense and rebounding.
In the opening half, Casey Smith scored 16 points for West Lowndes (5-4) and perfected knocking down the wide-open 3-point shot.
After missing nine of its first 10 shots, West Lowndes reeled off a 12-2 run and seized the early momentum with a 14-9 lead. Smith was getting help from Marcus Farmer and the Panthers suddenly built a 25-13 lead midway through the second quarter.
West Lowndes held a 31-22 lead at halftime.
“We had to guard harder,” Bell said. “Casey was on fire there for a while. We got a couple of hands in their faces in the second half. Our defensive intensity was a great. That is where the game turned.”
New Hope coach Drew McBrayer offered his team what he called “slight criticism” at halftime. The team looked different after that.
New Hope scored eight points in a 45-second span to start the third quarter. Bell had 12 points in the quarter, including back-to-back possessions where he stole the ball and converted a fast-break basket on the other end. Thomas was double- and triple-teamed in the first half. In the second half, he possessed a stronger will. A nice drive through three defenders to the goal gave New Hope its first lead since early in the first quarter at 39-37.
Junior center Andrew Junkin also got into the act with a pair of blocked shots. As the horn sounded, a baseline jumper by Bell capped his monster quarter and gave his new team a 43-40 lead.
“When we are engaged on the defensive end, we can be a really good team,” McBrayer said. “We had a difficult game on the road Monday night (a 69-61 win over Calhoun City), but we told the guys we weren’t going to talk about being tired. There was a lot of standing around there in the first half. In the second half, we threw the switch defensively and really responded with a great half. Even though we had some good offense, it all started with the steals and the easy baskets on defense. That is how things got going.”
Bell scored four straight baskets in the fourth quarter for a 55-45 lead as a worn-down West Lowndes squad had no answers underneath. A season ago, Bell was wearing down the opposition as he helped the Panthers to the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 1A state championship game.
“There was nothing personal about this game,” Bell said. “Obviously, I wanted to play well because I have a lot of friends over there on the other side. I just wanted go out there and try to help my new team get a win.”
Bell finished with 29 points, while Thomas had 14 points and seven assists. Junkin finished with four blocked shots.
“We have some really good balance on this team,” Thomas said. “Offensively and defensively, we have several guys who can contribute.”
McBrayer said four different New Hope players have scored 20 or more points in a game this season. After losing to Starkville and Ripley with football players still not in basketball shape, McBrayer likes the direction of his team.
“We have really been playing well,” McBrayer said. “The biggest challenge has been consistency on defense. Offensively, we have some players who can play and can score the basketball.”
Smith finished with 21 points for West Lowndes, while Darius Harkins added 11 points.
In the opener, the New Hope girls improved to 6-3 with a 56-34 win over West Lowndes.
Lanoria Abrams led the Lady Trojans with 16 points, while Alex Melton added 13 points. Edmariah Sherrod had 12 points for West Lowndes (3-6).
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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