JACKSON — For the first time since 2018, Columbus is back in the state title game.
Behind the play of Mike Hood and D.J. Verdell, the Falcons raced past Natchez 75-40 in the Semifinal Round of the MHSAA Boys Class 5A basketball playoffs on Thursday afternoon at the Mississippi Coliseum.
Columbus (26-5) will face Holmes County for the Class 5A state championship on Saturday night at 8 p.m.
“We got out to a good start and started fast and that’s something we wanted to do; set the tone for the rest of the game,” said Columbus coach Philip Morris. “We did what we were supposed to do, executed the game plan, understood what we needed to do on certain spots and played our brand of basketball.”
It was all Columbus from the start.
The Falcons jumped out to a 12-4 lead to begin the game and eventually held a 21-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Columbus began the second quarter on a 9-3 run to extend their lead out to 30-12 and held a convincing 39-21 halftime lead.
A 10-5 run by the Falcons midway through the third gave Columbus a 49-26 lead and from that point the lead didn’t get under 23 points.
“D.J. (Verdell) played great and showed a lot of maturity and came into the game locked in, so I’m proud of him and the guys for playing hard,” Morris said. “It’s been a long time coming to get back to the state championship game and I’m excited about it. We don’t get a lot of positive stuff going on in Columbus, so just being a positive light on the community is just great. … Just got to get ready for the game Saturday.”
Hood had a game-high 21 points to lead Columbus, while Verdell added 16 points for the Falcons.
“We just stayed composed and went out there and executed our game plan to win the game and played as hard as we could,” Verdell said. “We put a lot of emphasis on crashing out and playing our brand of basketball and we did and got the win. We don’t plan on going home without a gold ball.”
Daylan Haywood had 16 points to lead Natchez, while Randall Newell added 12 points for the Bulldogs (20-10).
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