When New Hope High School junior Jaylen Smith makes his way to the scorer’s table to check in, the game plan is simple.
“The coaches ask me to go in there and make some things happen,” Smith said. “My job is to give my team a spark. I love the role and that expectation.”
Smith helped his team turn the tide Friday night as New Hope rallied past West Point 74-50 in the final game of the opening night of the New Hope Holiday Classic at the new Trojan Gym.
New Hope was trailing 31-25 after giving up a basket to start the third quarter. From there, the Trojans responded with a 29-6 run to win in only the second home game of the season.
“Once we started playing harder, everything worked out,” New Hope coach Drew McBrayer said. “We can be good when we get into the passing lanes and knock away some balls. If we can get some turnovers, that really gets the offense going. The first half is not representative of how we play here.”
New Hope (4-8) has looked for consistency throughout the first half of the season. The Trojans are slowly putting things together after losing a lot of key pieces from last season’s state tournament team.
“The second half of the season is going to be important to us,” New Hope junior RL Mattix said. “We knew we would have a lot of road games early and home games late. Right now, it’s about finding more consistency on the offensive end.”
New Hope hit 11 3-pointers, including six in the 49-point second half. The defense reeked havoc, undoing the confidence level built by West Point, during one of its better first halves this season.
“We turned them over some and that really helped,” Smith said. “When everybody makes shots, it feels great to be out there on the court. We were finally playing at home and the shots started falling.”
Smith had 15 points on five made 3-point baskets. McBrayer said his junior guard had hit 13 3-pointers in the three games prior to Friday night.
“Quite simply, we have to get him some more offensive touches,” McBrayer said. “He has been coming off the bench. It’s just an immediate energy boost and we needed it.”
The Trojans were down seven when Smith came in for his second stint of duty Friday night. He knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, had a block and two steals to help pull New Hope from its early abyss.
In the second half, everybody got into the act.
Mattix finished with 23 points but his play at the point guard position finding the open man should not go unnoticed. Tikorian Chandler had 11 points — all in the second half.
Chandler got things going in the final half with a 3-pointer to start the big run. Caleb Parr had a blocked shot and outlet pass to Mattix to give the home team the lead.
A big lift also came from senior Javares Roberts, who racked up five rebounds and a pair of blocked shots during the decisive run.
“This was a great win because everybody contributed,” Mattix said. “Sometimes, this team’s confidence level drops a little bit. If we can play consistently on the defensive end, we will keep getting better.”
West Point (1-11) received 19 points from Dishone Cooperwood and 13 points from James Cunningham.
After being road warriors and playing a ton of close games early in the season, New Hope players were eager for the tournament finale Saturday night against West Lauderdale.
“We just have to keep coming to the gym and keep working,” Mattix said. “We have shown flashes. Once district play starts, we have to be at our best.”
In another tournament game Friday night, the New Hope girls dropped a 54-39 decision to Jackson Academy.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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