It took four minutes for all five starters to score. Two minutes later, the lead was 21-2 and the first wave of substitutes was already in the game.
It was that kind of night for the Heritage Academy boys basketball team.
Trey Naugher led four pla`yers in double figures with 17 points as the Patriots crushed Park Place Christian Academy 74-47 in the quarterfinals of the MAIS North 5A tournament on Tuesday night in Columbus.
Whit Altmyer scored 14 points for Heritage, with Mack Howard netting 13 and Jack Ketchum chipping in 11.
“I felt like all year long that if we could all put it together at the same time, we had a chance to be really good,” Heritage coach Russ Whiteside said. “We haven’t done that, and we still haven’t done that for long periods of time.”
But the Patriots did it enough to win going away against the Crusaders, who looked overmatched for long stretches of the contest.
That was especially true early. Heritage scored the first nine points of the game, with Howard netting the last five of them on back-to-back perimeter shots that led the Crusaders to call an early timeout.
It didn’t help. After Park Place got on the scoreboard, the Patriots ran off another 12 consecutive points. This time it was Naugher doing the heavy lifting, scoring seven in a row on a layup inside off of an assist from Drew Huskison, a strong move inside off of an inbound pass and another layup.
The lead swelled to 23 points late in the second quarter before Park Place scored the last six points of the half to go into intermission trailing 43-26.
“I didn’t know a whole lot about them before this past weekend,” Whiteside said of the Crusaders. “I started watching some film on them, talking to a couple of coaches they had played against.”
The crash course either paid off or was not needed in the first place, because Heritage again turned it up a notch during the third quarter. Another 12-point run — four players contributed to that one — gave the Patriots a 25-point bulge.
While the offense was balanced throughout the game, the defense was also a group effort. The Crusaders managed just two points over the first 6 minutes, 50 seconds of the game and went scoreless over the final 5:56 of the third quarter as well.
“They’ve been playing really hard,” Whiteside said of his defense. “I’ve never questioned that about this group. Their effort is always good. I’m really pleased with the intensity and the energy they’re playing with.”
Reserves played most of the fourth quarter for the Patriots, as Whiteside got everybody on the roster some time on the floor. Collin Adair scored seven points during the final period, and Xzavier Webber netted five.
It all adds up to a team that should be dangerous the rest of the week.
“I feel like we’ve got a team that if we’re making shots, sharing the ball the way they should, we have a chance to make a little run,” Whiteside said.
The Patriots will play the winner of Wednesday’s game between Starkville and Lamar in Friday’s semifinals.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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Collin Adair of Heritage Academy waits to check into Tuesday night's tournament game against Park Place Christian. Adair came off the bench to score 7 points in the Patriots' 74-47 win. Tom Rysinski/Dispatch Staff
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