WEST POINT — Headed to the hoop, Lebron Lewis freed the basketball from his hands and tossed it toward the rim.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the West Point junior was attempting an alley-oop pass to senior teammate Steven Moore or going up for an unconventional layup, but it hardly mattered. The ball clanked off the cylinder and into the hands of an Amory defender. Lewis, after jostling unsuccessfully to corral it, hit the floor.
The play epitomized the Green Wave’s struggles in their 65-28 home loss to the Panthers on Tuesday. West Point (0-5) allowed 12 straight points to begin the game, trailed 29-11 at halftime and couldn’t recoup what it had lost.
It was, Green Wave coach Gary Dixon said, a typical early-season performance by his young team — a squad still looking to build confidence as the year goes on.
“We’ve just got to trust that what we prepared for is actually going to come to fruition,” Dixon said. “We’re better than what we showed.”
What West Point showed on Tuesday wasn’t encouraging, but it wasn’t altogether dispiriting. While giveaways ended Green Wave possessions early all afternoon, the circumstances surrounding the miscues weren’t always bad, Dixon said.
“Some of the turnovers we had, we were trying to do the right thing,” he said. “I’ll live with those. That comes with the youth.”
Three eighth-graders, including Jalen Hall, saw significant minutes Tuesday with senior Jarion Cunningham and sophomore Daveon Willis unable to play. Hall, who scored nine points, and sophomore Elijah Young, who had 10, did most of the heavy lifting for West Point.
Dixon said he hopes to get Young to be able to defend more dribble moves and further improve with time.
“He’s going to be a sight to see,” Dixon said. “Give me just a little while, and I’ll give y’all something to see.”
Lewis, too played an appreciable role for West Point, but his coach said the junior is capable of more.
“We need his presence on offense and defense,” Dixon said. “We’re trying to get him to provide us with that. We’re bearing with him. He’s going to give it to us. He’s going to turn it around.”
Dixon called Tuesday’s loss a “learning experience” as the Green Wave near competition in a district consisting of Columbus, New Hope and Grenada.
But with West Point’s girls games against Houston on Thursday and against Amory both canceled because of COVID-19, just taking the court was a boon for the Green Wave boys.
“I’m grateful we were able to play today,” Dixon said.
Other scores
Prep Girls Basketball
New Hope 42, Kosciusko 31
NEW HOPE — The New Hope girls won their season opener Tuesday with a 42-31 home victory over Kosciusko.
Taylor Brownlee had 13 points for the Trojans, and Madyson McBrayer had eight.
New Hope’s next game is at Caledonia on Dec. 1.
Starkville Academy 65, Greenville St. Joseph 30
ITTA BENA — The Starkville Academy girls posted a big win over Greenville St. Joseph on Tuesday at the Delta Duels at Mississippi Valley State in Itta Bena.
Caroline Wood led the way with 15 points in the Volunteers’ 65-30 win. Lillee Alpe scored 14, and Arden Parker had 11.
Starkville Academy’s next game is at Oak Hill Academy on Dec. 1.
Prep Boys Basketball
New Hope 66, Kosciusko 57
NEW HOPE — The New Hope boys also started their season with a win in Tuesday’s home game against Kosciusko.
Eric Caldwell, LJ Hackman and Caleb Parr each had 14 points to lead the Trojans. Carson Latham added eight points.
Starkville Academy 52, Greenville St. Joseph 38
ITTA BENA — The Starkville Academy boys remained undefeated with a 52-38 win over Greenville St. Joseph at the Delta Duels on Tuesday.
Dre Frazier led the Volunteers (4-0) with 13 points. Jawon Yarbrough scored 11.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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