STARKVILLE — Starkville senior Justin Green wasn’t ready to have his final season as a Yellow Jacket end this early.
Trailing late to Oxford in the first round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 7A state tournament, Green took matters into his own hands, finding an open lane to the basket where he sank a perfect teardrop floater.
That gave Starkville an all-important 50-49 lead with under a minute left, and from there, the Jackets held serve, advancing to the quarterfinals with an emphatic 54-49 win over the Chargers.
“We were getting some good looks, but we just weren’t hitting them,” Green said. “We were telling each other to stay in and keep doing the same thing we’ve been doing. It’s going to fall eventually.”
Green finished with just five points in the win for Starkville (18-11), but his late basket made all the difference, sealing a late comeback that saw the Jackets down 44-37 with 5:30 left in the fourth.
“I usually drive in and look for the kick out, but if I have an open shot, I have to take it,” Green said. “It was just instinct.”
That instinct ignited a raucous Starkville crowd, who got louder and louder as the second half, and especially the fourth quarter, wore on.
It was the jolt the Jackets needed after starting out both halves slow on Saturday. In the first half, Oxford jumped out to a 9-0 lead, knocking down three of its 10 three-pointers on the night.
In the second, the Chargers began things with a 7-0 run. While Starkville has prided itself on fast starts, it was a strong finish that took center stage in the win.
“We preach getting off to a fast start,” Starkville head coach Woodie Howard said. “That’s the main thing we talk about in the huddle right before we go upstairs. … We were able to get through it, get a few stops. We made a few shots. … We made a bunch of mistakes, missed some free throws, which we need to clean up, but overall, we’re just glad to get a win.”
Saturday’s win wasn’t the prettiest, but being able to outscore Oxford 17-5 down the stretch is the reason why the Jackets now find themselves a win away from heading to Jackson for the state semifinals.
The ugliest wins are often the most important wins, and this latest win for Starkville easily was the grittiest of the season.
“We found a way,” Howard said. “In district, all the games we’ve played in have been tight and those helped us get ready for moments like this. … I don’t think many counted us in to make it this far with us having the young team that we have. This is a big motivation for us to just see what we can do when we’re playing together.”
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