By Scott Walters
Columbus High School boys’ basketball coach Gary Griffin has been encouraging point guard Kaderius Williams to take more shots.
Fortunately for Griffin, he has had older players telling the sophomore the same thing.
“It was the first month of practice,” Columbus junior Robert Woodard II said. “We were running the offense and he was just passing on one wide-open shot after another. I had to tell him ‘please shoot the basketball.’ I reminded him it was practice, it didn’t matter if it went in or not.”
Fast forward a couple of months later to Friday night at the New Hope Gym.
Williams was forced to take the shot as his team was virtually out of time. A 20-foot 3-pointer from the top of the key hit home with four seconds remaining as Columbus beat county rival New Hope 60-58 in the final game of the Trojan Classic.
“The coaches have been on me to shoot more,” Williams said. “When I made it, I was so happy. There were so many things that went through my mind when the ball left my hand, but I knew it felt good. We were out of time, so I had to shoot. It was fate.”
Two weeks ago, Columbus beat New Hope 71-62 in overtime in the Joe Horne Columbus Christmas Classic. The encore could not have disappointed any of the standing room-only crowd. The lead switched hands eight times in the final 3 minutes and 52 seconds.
Columbus (6-6) began its final possession with 1:04 left on the clock. The Falcons ran the clock down to 35 seconds before Griffin called timeout. When play resumed, Columbus worked the ball to the far side where Dorian Brewer launched about a 15-foot jump shot with 15 second left. The shot fell short but was rebounded by Woodard II, who quickly muscled his way up to the goal. New Hope senior JaQuante Bell then blocked a piece of Woodard’s shot, enough to send it off the back iron. The fight for the rebound was intense and involved five players. The Falcons then got the lucky bounce as Williams controlled possession long enough, to set his feet and nail the game-winner.
New Hope’s final attempt was an off-balanced 30-footer by Terryonte Thomas which fell short, as the horn potentially sounded. No one could hear it with the capacity crowd still buzzing from Williams’ shot.
“I really can’t tell you how proud I am of Kaderius,” Griffin said. “He lost his cousin yesterday, so he was playing with a heavy heart. We have tried to lift his spirits and be there for him as his basketball family. He needed something special to happen to lift his spirits. I am really proud of how much he has grown this season.”
Williams was related to 12-year-old Spencer Bennett, Jr., who was accidentally shot and killed Thursday in Noxubee County.
New Hope (11-5) lost both games in its tournament. The Trojans had the lead in the closing seconds of regulation in both games against the Falcons but came up short both times.
“It’s hard to put the feelings into words,” New Hope coach Drew McBrayer said. “Two excellent basketball games. We felt great about our chances when were able to deny (Woodard) the initial touch. They caught a huge break when the bouce (went to Williams) and cashed in. Both teams made so many great plays.”
One great play took place in the first quarter. At the time, it looked like it would have minimal impact on the game.
Williams drained about a 22-foot 3-point shot as the first quarter expired. The Falcons were unable to get into that offense on this particular possession and Williams shot the ball as the horn sounded after a handful of passes. As he trotted back to the huddle, Williams pumped his fist to himself.
“I felt really good when I took that shot,” Williams said. “We couldn’t get anybody open underneath, so I dropped back and drained it. I had no idea what was coming later, but it felt good to get that one to go down. It gave me confidence later, that’s for sure.”
Woodard II hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give his team a lightning-quick 6-4 lead one minute into the contest. After the second trey though, Woodard II was called for his second personal foul in 75 seconds of playing time.
Without their Dandy Dozen performer on the court, Columbus still stretched the lead and led 17-9 after one quarter.
“I can’t tell you how excited I was about the first quarter,” Woodard II said. “Not excited about sitting the bench. Very excited about watching the other guys play. It was fun watching other guys step up and make shots. That was big for this team.”
Woodard return to the court in the second quarter but New Hope had its own Dandy Dozen Thomas ready to make plays. A 3-pointer by Thomas capped an 8-0 run and tied the game at 17-17. Woodard II then reminded everybody he was still in uniform with a monster dunk over a seven-foot New Hope defender. It was the first of two times that some spectators regulated to the lobby to watch the game spilled out into the actual gym.
New Hope finished what McBrayer called one of the team’s best quarters all season by taking a 30-24 halftime lead.
Columbus remained on the ropes in the third quarter as Bell and the New Hope inside game did its work. Thomas hit two 3-pointers and Bell scored six straight underneath as New Hope stretched the lead to 12 — at 43-31.
In some foreshadowing, Brewer rammed home a 3-pointer as the third quarter expired, to pull the Falcons within 45-38.
“It was a fun game and a rivalry game,” Woodard II said. “We liked our chances going into the fourth quarter, because we were in a similar situation at our place.”
Columbus scored the first eight points of the final quarter with a 3-pointer by Woodard giving the Falcons a 46-45 lead with 6:14 left.
From there, the game swung back and forth on every free throw attempt, steal, blocked shot and timeout called.
An old-fashioned 3-point player by Woodard II gave Columbus a 52-50 lead. A behind the back pass from Thomas to Bell meant the go-ahead layup for New Hope at 53-52.
Woodard and Bell then personally switched the lead three more times. New Hope’s Tyler Stevenson hit one of two free throws for a 58-57 lead with 1:04 left.
From there, the Falcons executed the final possession to near-perfection with three good looks against heavy pressure, before Williams struck gold.
“Our motto is to not lose to New Hope,” Williams said. “It’s a rivalry game. We are going to fight and compete for four quarters. We are going to scrap and do everything we can to win the game.”
Woodard II led Columbus with 26 points. Denijay Harris added 10 points, while Williams finished with six points – his two quarter-ending 3-pointers.
For New Hope, Bell had 21 points and Thomas had 17 points.
As the capacity crowd left the arena, a female classmate came up and gave Williams a hug.
“I am proud of you,” she said. “I am glad you took that shot.”
On this night, she was not alone.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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