HERNANDO — The Columbus High School basketball teams continued their winning ways Friday night.
The Columbus girls won their eighth-straight game with a 47-25 victory against Hernando, while the Columbus boys earned their fifth-straight win with a 64-59 victory in Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 6A, Region 2 play at Long Gymnasium.
It was a much different game than Columbus’ 68-55 double-overtime win when the teams met in Columbus.
“We had not played Hernando in quite a while since they have not been in our region,” Columbus coach Yvonne Hairston said. “I thought the girls really did a great job of adjusting. We saw some things we needed to take away from them on film. We were able to do that.”
Columbus (3-0 in Region 2) allowed one field goal in the third quarter and ended that quarter on a 13-1 run. In the second half, Columbus held Hernando without a field goal for more than 11 minutes.
“In the first half, they were making some shots,” Hairston said. “I thought they got loose on us in the first half. We shifted our zone more in the second half. We went with a bigger lineup. (Hernando’s Alyssa Greer) really hurt us the first time. She didn’t make as many shots in this game.”
Columbus ended the half with an 8-3 run for a 21-16 halftime lead. In the second half, Hernando scored first with on 3-pointer, but it didn’t score from the field again until less than six minutes were left in the game.
“We are playing really well,” Hairston said. “Defensively, we are playing really well. The girls are sticking to the game plan. We had good execution on offense tonight. We got a lot of girls into the scoring column, which is really good because as the year progresses, Zaria (Jenkins) will be limited more by some great defenses, so other players will need to step up.”
Jenkins led Columbus with 16 points, while Kaylyn Wilson had nine points and seven rebounds. Nine players scored.
Kaitlyn Doyle led Hernando (12-8, 1-3) with 18 points.
The boys game was much different, as Columbus escaped after grabbing a 66-47 home win earlier this month.
Columbus finished off three road wins in five days. It defeated Jackson Academy on Monday in Clinton and South Panola on Tuesday in Batesville.
“We just wanted to find a way to win tonight,” Columbus coach Gary Griffin said. “We have had three difficult road games in the same week. Our legs were not where they needed to be. We knew this was a good matchup, so we just wanted to come out focused and make enough plays to finish off a very good week for this basketball team.”
The Falcons didn’t trail after scoring seven-straight points to break a 17-17 tie early in the second quarter. The Falcons kept a similar advantage the rest of the half, and led 31-25 at halftime.
Robert Woodard II had 27 points, 14 rebounds, three steals, and three blocked shots. He secured the double-double during that 7-0 run in the second quarter, as he had eight first-quarter rebounds.
Columbus (11-7, 3-0) used its height advantage to block five shots, with Dorian Brewer and Chris Blair also getting blocks. Jaboris Frazier also played well underneath.
“Hernando likes to shoot the 3-pointer, so we really wanted to limit the outside shooting,” Griffin said. “We did a great job underneath. After we get the blocks early, Hernando had to alter more shots. Just really proud of the ball movement and the fact we played under control and stayed true to the task.”
Hernando pulled with 44-43 in the final minute of the third quarter. Denijay Harris (15 points) then hit a 3-pointer to end the quarter and Woodard II started the fourth with another for a 50-43 lead.
From there, Columbus played smart basketball and slowed the tempo as it had to overcome point guard Kadrerius Williams fouling out with seven minutes left.
“We have won eight of the last nine against some really good competition,” Griffin said. “The schedule was tough early and we had a lot of new pieces to fit together. I am proud the guys kept believing in what we were doing. They are now seeing their hard work pay off.”
Derrell Perkins led Hernando (7-12, 0-4) with 15 points.
n On Saturday, Wilson had a team-high 15 points to lead Columbus to a 41-34 victory against Pontotoc. The win, the team’s ninth in a row, lifted the Lady Falcons to 15-3.
Columbus will play host to Tupelo in region play Tuesday night. Both Tupelo squads are undefeated in region play.
n Columbus Christian Academy (boys) 73, Marshall Academy 56: RJ Deloach had 19 points to lead the Rams (16-7) on Saturday night.
Kimarri Whitfield had 13 points, and Isaiah Cooper had 11 and Dakameron Mitchell had 10. Dawson Shaw chipped in with eight points, Brent Beckwith had seven, and Nate Parker had five.
n New Hope (boys) 69, West Point 52: Tyler Stevenson had 22 points to lead the Trojans (14-7, 1-2 Class 5A, Region 2, District 1) on Friday night.
Terryonte Thomas had 20 points, and Andrew Junkin and JaQuante Bell added 10.
n In the girls game, West Point beat New Hope 53-42. Lanoria Abrams had 13 points for the Lady Trojans.
New Hope will play Tuesday at West Lowndes and Friday at Saltillo.
New Hope will play host to the region tournament, which starts with consolation round play Tuesday, Feb. 14.
n Heritage Academy 47, Hamilton 34: At Hamilton, Dalton Ford had 19 points to lead the Patriots on Friday night.
n In other action, a 23-13 deficit in the third quarter proved to be too much for the Starkville Academy boys basketball team to overcome in a 63-59 loss to Eupora on Saturday morning.
Codie Futral had 12 points, five rebounds, eight assists, and three steals for the Volunteers. Brady Richardson added 12 points, three rebounds, and three assists, while Reid Stevens had 11 points and five rebounds and Noah Methvin had 10 points and three rebounds. Carter Roach had nine points for Starkville Academy (9-8, 3-0 district).
Eupora won the girls game 62-59. Starkville Academy is 12-10 and 1-2 in the district.
n On Friday, Stevens had 26 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and four steals in a 59-38 victory against Leake Academy.
Raegan Richardson had 14 points, five rebounds, and four steals for the Volunteers. Futral had eight points, six rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Roach had six assists and three steals.
The Starkville Academy girls beat Leake Academy 67-62.
n Victory Christian Academy (boys) 68, New Life Christian Academy 50: Brady Scarbrough had 27 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists Friday night to lead the Eagles.
n Olivia Lewis had 19 points and 10 rebounds Thursday night to lead the Pickens Academy girls basketball team to a 58-41 victory against Tuscaloosa Home Educators.
Kacy Noland had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Allison Latham had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Lady Pirates (12-3).
Soccer
n New Hope (boys) 7, West Point 1: Ches Chancey, Bryan Vogel, Carson Forrester, Brody Kizer, and Nathan Wilson had goals Saturday to help the Trojans (13-3-2) close the regular season with a victory.
New Hope, which lost to Amory 3-1 on Friday, will play Center Hill at 5 p.m. Tuesday in the first round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 5A playoffs.
n New Hope (girls) 8, West Point 0: Anna Kate O’Bryant had two goals Saturday to lead the Lady Trojans.
Meredith Woolbright, Madison Waddell, Jesslyn Smith, Skylar Banks, Renee Dye, and Jada Tate also scored for New Hope, which lost to Amory 6-1 on Friday night.
n Caledonia (girls) 3, Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science 0: Jane Claire Newman had two goals Friday night to lead the Lady Confederates.
Kelsey Wade also scored for Caledonia, which finished the regular season 12-6 and 4-2 in the district.
Shelbi Box, Claire Benson, and Lizzie Truelock added assists.
Caledonia will play New Albany at 6 p.m. Monday in the first round of the MHSAA Class 4A playoffs.
n Caledonia (boys) 7, MSMS 0: Seven players scored for the Confederates (9-7-1) in their regular-season finale.
Sam Young, Quaid Phillips, Garrett Bergstrom, Garrett Parish, Richard Blasius, Blake Barnes, and Mario Aguirre had goals, while Morgan Fishel, Phillips, and Parish had two assists. Bergstrom and Dylan Lester also had assists.
The Caledonia boys will take on Corinth at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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