Codie Futral cradled the ball in his hands as the final seconds expired.
The Starkville Academy senior then turned his right shoulder and pointed to some of the remaining Volunteer faithful to acknowledge their support.
In rivalry games, every extra bit of energy is needed, especially when you want to win on the other team’s home court.
Futral made sure Starkville Academy rewarded their fans with a game-high 21 points Tuesday night in a 60-45 victory against Heritage Academy in a Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AAA, District 2 matchup.
Futral added seven rebounds, seven assists, and three steals to help the Volunteers improve to 8-7 and 2-0 in the district. Reid Stevens had 14 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, and Noah Methvin had 10 points. Carter Road added five points, six rebounds, and six steals.
Starkville Academy used a 16-6 run in the second quarter to turn Heritage Academy’s last lead (15-13) into a 29-21 halftime lead. The burst was part of the Volunteers’ 37-21 advantage in the middle 16 minutes.
Stevens hit a 3-pointer to trigger the run. Methvin scored on a layup off a pass from Roach, Futral scored on a layup and converted a three-point play off a pass from Roach, and Stevens scored on a lob pass from Futral to fuel the Volunteers.
Futral said the Volunteers were pumped for the game because they saw messages on social media that asked them if they were ready for this ‘L.’ Lively student sections for both schools added to the intensity in a matchup between teams that figure to contend for the district title.
“We took it to heart and it got us motivated and we kept it the whole game,” Futral said. “I knew we all had to play really well. If we didn’t, we were going to lose, so we all came out and played. It was a great night.”
Both teams had their opportunities. Heritage Academy as 6 of 16 from the free-throw line, while Starkville Academy was 11 of 21. The Patriots also had their share of looks in the paint, but weren’t able to capitalize.
Starkville Academy coach Bruce Allsup, who coached basketball at Heritage Academy for seven years, said his team finally is starting to come together after battling injuries. He said the team used the week following Christmas break to work on several aspects. He said a win against Winston Academy and a win against Heritage Academy have helped Starkville Academy start the new year with a lot of momentum. Allsup hopes Futral, who was the district’s Player of the Year last season, can help lead the way.
“He plays big in big games,” Allsup said. “That is just the kind of kid he is. He has that it factor in him. I thought we all played really well.”
Allsup added to the intensity of the rivalry. Several times he moved quickly in front of his team’s bench in response to officials’ calls or broke out in a mock dance step in an attempt to add body English to one of his player’s scoring attempts. He praised his team’s effort in a hostile environment against a talented team.
“I think the guys battle for me (because they know he coached at Heritage Academy),” Allsup said. “That is a great thing to see them battle for me.”
Heritage Academy coach Russ Whiteside said his team has battled inconsistent free-throw shooting all season. He praised Starkville Academy for executing their game plan and playing hard.
“We didn’t score very well,” Whiteside said. “They did a great job on us defensively. We didn’t help ourselves out and we missed a lot of easy shots, but our guys played hard. Our effort was good. As long as our effort can stay good, we’ll go back to fix what is wrong and get better.”
Whiteside said Heritage Academy (10-3, 2-1) has been playing well after wins against Winston Academy and Leake Academy. He said the team has found a way to move on without Eli Acker, who is out for the season with an injury, and Moak Griffin, who also has battled injuries. Whiteside said Griffin will be re-evaluated next week, so he is unsure if he will be able to return.
Without Acker and Griffin, Josh Neal led Heritage Academy with 14 points, Dontae Gray had 10 and Dalton Ford had nine.
“I don’t think talent is our problem,” Whiteside said. “I think we had two really big wins last week and we got a little complacent and thought maybe we could just show up and do the same thing we have been doing. That is not the case.
“We have to move on. There is no time to dwell on this. Hopefully by next Tuesday we will have a little better game plan than we did tonight.”
Starkville Academy will play Leake Academy on Friday and Eupora on Saturday. Heritage Academy will play Hamilton on Friday. It will take on Columbus Christian on Monday before the rematch against Starkville Academy next Tuesday.
n In the girls game, Sydney Passons had 12 points in Starkville Academy’s 46-31 victory. Hannah Cuevas had 10 points, Mary Peyton Passons had nine, and Hays Miller had six for the Lady Volunteers (12-8, 1-1).
Allie Kerby had 12 points for Heritage Academy. Anna Claire Coleman had nine.
n In other action Tuesday night, Brady Scarbrough had 30 points to lead the Victory Christian Academy boys basketball team to a 64-54 victory against Tuscaloosa Christian.
Zaria Jenkins had 21 points to lead the Columbus High School girls basketball team to a 63-52 victory against South Panola.
Tori Weir had 12 points for the Lady Falcons.
Robert Woodard II had 27 points lead the Columbus boys to a 63-42 victory against South Panola. Greg King had 10 for the Falcons.
Olivia Lewis had 22 points and seven steals to lead the Pickens Academy girls basketball team to a 66-42 victory against Russell Christian.
Taylor Hickman had 13 points and six steals for the Lady Pirates (11-3, 2-1 area).
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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