JACKSON — For the first time since 2021 Starkville is headed back to the state title game.
Behind a stingy defense and some timely baskets the Yellow Jackets got past Biloxi 37-27 in the Semifinal Round of the MHSAA Boys Class 7A playoffs on Tuesday night at the Mississippi Coliseum.
Starkville (28-3) will face Region 2-7A foe Germantown for the Class 7A state championship on Friday night at 8 p.m.
This will be the fourth meeting between the two teams; Starkville is 2-1 in the previous three.
“That’s been our motto all year is defense, forcing single-digit quarters, try to hold opponents to 38 points or less and since the district championship, we’ve done that each game,” Starkville coach Anthony Carlyle said. “I told the guys before the game started that if we rebound the ball, we can win this game and we did enough.”
The Yellowjackets held a slim 10-8 lead at the end of the first quarter and then outscored the Indians 11-4 in the second quarter to take a 21-12 halftime lead.
Biloxi began the third quarter on a 9-2 run to cut the Starkville lead down to 23-21, however T.J. Warren made a pair of free throws and Ladanuel Jordan made a lay-up to give the Jackets a 27-21 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, each time Biloxi cut into the Starkville lead the Yellow Jackets had an answer. Starkville ended the game on an 8-1 run highlighted by Jerwan McCarter dunk with 46 seconds left to seal the win.
“Biloxi is a scrappy bunch and does a great job creating second and third-chance points, so if we could limit those that would be a key to winning this game. We saw on film that they weren’t effective on offense when they go against the zone defense, so we made some adjustments and stuck with it,” Carlyle said. “Germantown is a familiar opponent, so this will be the fourth time and we know each other well, so it’ll be about which team wants it the most.”
McCarter had 11 points, four rebounds, and four assists to lead Starkville.
“It was a tough game, but we got dialed in the fourth quarter and handled business,” McCarter said. “I had to be consistent and be a leader. Biloxi is a good team and we talked about all week being big on the boards and we knew had to do that to win the game.”
Kentrell Beasley had 12 points to lead Biloxi (23-7).
“Defensively we did a great job of taking them out of some things, but sometimes you have to give the other team credit. They’re the number one team in the state for a reason,” said Biloxi coach Seber Windham, who’s retiring after 29 years of coaching. “It was going to be a battle, but Coach Carlyle is one of the best coaches in the state and that team is tough defensively and strong. We didn’t get the ball to bounce our way tonight.”
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