COLUMBUS — The Falcons boys basketball team suffered its second loss of the season on Tuesday, falling 55-52 at home to Tupelo.
The Falcons, now 8-2, trailed for most of the contest and fell behind 46-36 heading into the final frame. The defense picked up the slack as the offense got moving, and head coach Phillip Morris embraced the opportunity to mount a comeback against the Golden Wave.
“I told them it was a great situation because we hadn’t done that before,” he said. “We fought through and did some good things in the fourth quarter, we just didn’t do it well enough early. We gave up rebounds and second-chance points and turned the ball over a lot, but I think we can learn a lot from it.”
Mike Hood led the way for the Falcons in scoring 18 points on the night, 16 of which came in the second half. His presence in the paint made him an asset on both ends of the floor and gave Columbus a chance to force overtime. A three-point attempt at the buzzer clattered away, however, and the Golden Wave (6-3) headed home with the win.
The Falcons were without senior forward Wilton Bush, who Morris dubbed their best defender after the game, due to an injury suffered in pregame warm-ups. His presence was felt early as the visitors built a lead.
Morris had an optimistic view of the loss afterward, though he didn’t hide his frustration with his team’s slow start.
“I think even though we lost it was a pretty good situation for us,” he said. “We got crushed by Hoover, but other than that we haven’t really had a close game. Every game we’ve won has been 10-plus points so we’ve never seen adversity. It was good to be in that situation. We didn’t come out with as much intensity as usual and it went from there. We were chasing the whole game and that’s just what it was.”
The Falcons are a force this season partly because of the balance of talent and experience throughout the roster. Hood and Bush are complimented by the likes of Jace O’Neal at guard and Davie Verdell at forward. The latter already stands at 6’6 as a sophomore and has been entrusted with responsibility defensively and on the ball normally reserved for upperclassmen. Hood was in a similar position last year and is already set to be the team’s leading scorer for two years running. Nights like Tuesday are tough to handle, but with that sort of balance in the team, Morris feels good about what his guys can make for themselves this season.
“I think they understand what it’s like,” Morris said of his young players. “We’ve had situations already through the year where Davie has stepped up big in games, Mike has been doing it since he was a sophomore and led us in scoring last year as well as this year. They’re used to that, it’s nothing specific I tell them, just try to keep them confident and go from there.”
You can help your community
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 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
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 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
