WEST POINT — Oak Hill Academy senior Branden Stevenson is adding to his highlight reel.
The athletic Stevenson has delivered plenty of rim-shaking dunks in the past few weeks. For four straight weeks, a Stevenson slam has garnered major attention on the high school sports video platform Hudl. Two of the dunks made Hudl’s top five in the nation, Oak Hill coach Andrew Howell said, and one of them had been viewed by 80,000 people.
In Tuesday’s home game against Kirk Academy, though, Stevenson topped it all. Late in the third quarter, with Oak Hill leading 43-24, Stevenson rose up and slammed the ball down with one hand on unsuspecting Kirk senior Logan Hall, drawing a foul in the process and bringing the Raiders’ home crowd to its feet.
In the process, Stevenson delivered an emphatic knockout blow to Kirk in Oak Hill’s 55-45 win Tuesday — and perhaps the new standout clip on his video highlight reel.
“That one was by far the best one,” Howell said. (Stevenson disagreed.)
Best of the year or not, the titanic dunk pushed Oak Hill’s lead over 20 points and gave the Raiders the energy Howell stressed heavily for his team in the midst of a long season.
“That’s something that gets the crowd going and gets our guys going, and that’s something that you need for sure, especially as the season goes along where it’s hard to find energy in places,” Howell said. “That’s a great source.”
The Raiders (16-3, 4-0 district) especially needed that energy boost after Monday’s 42-40 loss at Starkville Academy, Howell said, though he believes the loss to the Volunteers will help his team in the long run.
“The Starkville Academy game was probably something that we really need,” Howell said. “We need to be in close games this time of year.”
With the high-flying Stevenson, the distance shooting of junior Manning Huffman, the defense of senior Dalton Magers and the inside presence of senior Daniel Harrington, that’s been easier said and done for the surging Raiders.
Harrington, especially, has emerged as a key leader in the locker room for Oak Hill, Howell said, and his post skills were on display in full Tuesday, when tied Huffman for the team lead with 12 points.
“He’s a bull down there,” Howell said of Harrington. “His attitude, he wants it. We’re gonna continue to go to him. … He’s really smooth. He’s got great feel around the basket. He’s obviously great to have.”
With Harrington scoring inside and sophomore Cameron Dill combining with Huffman to make five 3-pointers, the Raiders’ offense was clicking Tuesday. Senior Jaden Craven hit a layup just before the buzzer to give Oak Hill a 20-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, though Kirk closed the gap in the fourth. Chase Rose scored 21 points to lead the visiting Raiders, who only boast seven players on their roster.
“They never quit, so you gotta give them a lot of credit,” Howell said.
With the victory behind them, Howell’s Raiders move into the second portion of their district schedule, hosting Central Holmes Christian on Friday.
“Anytime we get a win, no matter what it looks like, it’s great for us,” Howell said. “The guys, the spirits are up, they’re ready to go. It was nice to come back home and get a win.”
Kirk Academy girls 43, Oak Hill Academy 35
WEST POINT — Oak Hill junior Carley Wooten knows that once her team gets going, it can’t be stopped.
But Tuesday, as can often be the case, the host Raiders simply struggled to get going. Oak Hill scored just five points in the first quarter and never really recovered in a 43-35 loss to a tough Kirk Academy team.
“Tonight it didn’t happen for us,” Wooten said, “but that’s OK.”
It was an important tune-up for Oak Hill as it prepares to re-immerse itself into district play Friday against Central Holmes Christian, a school Oak Hill girls coach Mindy Bowman said plays comparably to Kirk.
“That was a good game for us to prepare for Friday,” Bowman said.
Her Raiders struggled against the speed and defensive ability of the visitors — also the Raiders — but caught up a bit at halftime, trailing 20-19. Oak Hill kept the game within four points after three quarters, but Kirk pulled away just enough to win by eight.
Missing point guards Anna Grace Reed and Sara Nash to injury, Oak Hill still played solid defense, but its offense couldn’t sustain success for any long stretches.
“Getting the ball started, getting offense started is the point guard’s job, and we kind of struggled with that,” Bowman said. “We’ll get there.”
Wooten led the Raiders with 14 points, though as usual, it took her a bit to get into the flow of the contest. She had just four of her points in the first half, and all four were in the second quarter.
“I always have a slow start in games,” Wooten said. “It just takes me two quarters to get going.”
With post player Rachel McLain struggling to score — McLain hauled in 14 rebounds but had just five points — the shorthanded Oak Hill offense couldn’t get it done.
Bowman, no stranger to seeing her players go down in this portion of the Raiders’ schedule, just hopes for health as Oak Hill picks up its district schedule.
“This time of the year, every year, we go through this: injuries and sickness,” she said. “I’m just praying that next week we’ll all be healthy.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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