MACON — Caledonia High School senior Coby Coleman likes his team’s chances when the defensive switch is thrown.
Coleman’s Confederates threw that switch in the fourth quarter and in overtime Tuesday night at Narvel Colemon Gymnasium.
Caledonia then did enough on the offensive end to close out a thrilling 68-59 double overtime win over Noxubee County in a Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 4A, Region 4 boys’ basketball contest.
“When we work hard on defense and play with more intensity, we feel like we can beat a lot of teams,” Coleman said. “We pretty much survived this game because of our defense. I am pretty happy at how well we shut them down there in the fourth quarter and in the overtime when we had to.”
Noxubee County has fought hard under first-year coach Shamaine Roberts despite being winless. The Tigers again had their chances in this contest, including holding for the final shot of regulation play.
The contest having a final shot of consequence was quite shocking considering Caledonia held a 49-40 lead with 1 minute, 45 seconds left in regulation.
“You have to give the kids a lot of credit for battling there at the end,” Caledonia coach Josh Scott. “It should have never gone into overtime. A couple of poor coaching decisions really hurt us when we were ahead by nine points. We had a couple of possessions where we didn’t get anything done.”
Noxubee County (0-15, 0-2 region) continued a similar theme throughout the season, strong offensive play and good rebounding.
Damien Conner had a strong first quarter and the Tigers started strong as well.
Caledonia (12-4, 2-0) eventually righted the ship and grabbed a 27-26 lead at halftime.
Junior guard Zion Ford was just beginning to heat up for the Confederates. Ford, one of the region’s premier running backs, found slicing through the lane much easier than getting into the backfield of the Class 4A state champions in the fall. Noxubee County won 55-0 in football.
“This was a hard game but a whole lot easier than playing them in football, that is for sure,” Ford said. “We are getting good with the adversity thing. We didn’t let down each time Noxubee County made a run at us. It is not about who scores the point for our team. It’s about making sure we play together to get the win.”
Ford had 15 of his game-high 27 points in the first half. His offensive presence was needed as Noxubee County doubled down on Coleman under the basket. After scoring eight points in the first quarter, Coleman did not score again until a pair of back-breaking baskets in the second overtime.
Caledonia used an 8-0 run to build a 41-37 late in third quarter. A 3-pointer by Noxubee’s Jaqwavian Jones brought the Tigers within 43-40 after three quarters.
“In the fourth quarter, we played some outstanding defense,” Scott said. “That is really what this team is all about. During the holidays when we got some extra work in, we focused on a renewed effort on the defensive end. We don’t have a lot of size. Teams without size have to work harder on the defensive end.”
Caledonia used baskets from Ford, Robert Hamilton and Jamel Thomas to build a 49-40 lead. Noxubee County was held better than six minutes without a point in the final period.
Things then turned as Devon Ball scored three baskets and Conner rammed home a 3-pointer to tie the contest. Brandon Clay also had two key plays on the defensive end.
The Tigers held for the final shot of regulation but could not find the range as time expired.
“We let our guard down there at the end and they came back on us,” Ford said. “We needed to play a little smarter there at the end (of regulation). We will learn from it.”
In the second overtime, Caledonia again used a smothering defense late. A basket by Thomas broke a 59-59 tie as the clock ticked inside two minutes. The Confederates scored the final nine points of the game.
“We had some adversity earlier in the season,” Scott said. “We had a couple of weeks where we didn’t play well at all. It’s a credit to the kids to getting back in the gym to fix those things. It’s a very unselfish team and they are out here each day to make each other better. You can win with that type of team.”
For Caledonia, Thomas had 15 points, while Coleman had 12 points and Hamilton had 10 points — all in the second half.
Jones led by Noxubee County with 20 points. Bell added 14 points.
In the opener, the Noxubee County girls won 53-38.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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