Blake Burnett hit the layups when the Columbus High School boys basketball team needed a comeback.
Willie Young hit the 3-pointers when the Falcons needed to pull ahead.
Together, Burnett and Young helped Columbus (5-3) recover after what coach Phillip Morris called the Falcons’ worst half of the year, gain separation from West Lowndes in Tuesday’s home game and hold off the Panthers in a 65-47 victory.
“It felt good to win tonight,” Burnett said.
The senior, who didn’t enter the game until the second quarter after missing practice during the week, made an instant impact when he drove to the rim for four straight layups that tied the contest at 28-28 heading into halftime.
“We had to get back in the game, put ourselves in a better situation than where we started ourselves,” said Burnett, who finished with 14 points for the Falcons.
Columbus struggled early, allowing West Lowndes to corral a 15-11 lead after the first eight minutes and stretch its advantage to 26-18 on a 3-pointer by Darrell Brooks and an and-one by Jamarveion Seals.
“We jumped out on them,” West Lowndes coach Michael Huffman said. “We felt like they were going to take us a little lightly.”
But the Falcons’ JJ Williams answered with a nice move for a layup, and Burnett did the rest with four more scores to tie things up.
“They taught us a lesson, taught us how to win. No. 1 taught us how to win a ballgame,” Huffman said, referencing Burnett’s jersey number. “He took over. He made the difference.”
Huffman also credited Young, who had 20 points, including four 3-pointers. His second trey, roughly three minutes into the second quarter, broke a 33-33 tie; Columbus never gave up the lead.
“That boy played solid today,” Burnett said of Young. “He played a good game. He was able to contribute and help the team get a win.”
Young added two more 3s as Columbus stretched its lead to as big as 65-45 with a minute and 40 seconds to go.
“I knew that we had the game after we went up 20,” Burnett said.
Columbus continued a solid season despite three losses to top teams in MHSAA Class 4A (Pontotoc), Class 5A (Center Hill) and Class 6A (Starkville). The Falcons haven’t had a full team at any practice or game yet due to injury and football complications,, but they hope to get starters Tre Dismuke and Ethan Conner back by the time they next play, currently set for Dec. 29 in the New Hope Holiday Classic.
“We’ll get everybody back together,” Morris said. “It should be a good thing for us.”
Columbus girls 63, West Lowndes 28
The Falcons’ girls team knew what to get coach Yvonne Hairston for Christmas: a blowout win.
After a narrow overtime loss to Noxubee County last Tuesday and a road game at Starkville in which the Jackets nearly erased a sizable deficit, Columbus hoped to coast in its final game: Tuesday’s home contest against West Lowndes.
The Falcons (5-2) executed their plan to perfection in a 63-28 win, jumping on top of the Panthers (1-4) early and keeping the pressure on throughout the contest.
“We came out with that mentality that we needed to go up and stay up — don’t let them catch up,” Columbus junior forward Charity Yeates said.
Yeates was fundamental in achieving that goal, scoring the first six Falcons points and 13 of her game-high 19 in the first quarter alone. With 25 seconds to go in the first quarter, she corralled a rebound after multiple misses by her teammates and sank a midrange jumper plus the foul to put Columbus up 21-9 at the end of the period.
“I practice that shot almost every single day,” Yeates said. “My coach told me, ‘This is your shot. This is your sweet spot, so I want you to practice it.'”
As Yeates found her groove, so did the rest of the Falcons. Junior Makayla Rieves had nine points in the second quarter, senior DJ Jackson added six, and Columbus stretched its lead to as much as 30 in taking a 43-14 lead into the break.
“We’ve been trying to get into some kind of rhythm,” said Hairston, whose team rolled to the MHSAA Class 5A championship in March. “I feel like we’ve been playing not up to our potential.”
That changed Tuesday for the Falcons, but once again, the Panthers struggled. West Lowndes went undefeated in the regular season last year and reached the Class 1A semifinals but has won just one of its first five games this winter. Of course, games against the likes of Columbus, Starkville and Kosciusko presented a greater challenge, West Lowndes coach Takeea Bozeman said.
“Playing these tough teams, they bring out your weaknesses that you’ve got to work on,” she said.
Bozeman said her team needed to improve its defense and ball handling, both of which lapsed against the Falcons as the game went on and the deficit mounted. Tydajasha Hood led West Lowndes with 16 points, but no one else had more than four.
“We knew they were going to come in hard,” Hairston said. “I didn’t expect to win that big, to be honest with you.”
Still, Columbus will certainly take it. The Falcons’ next game is Jan. 8 at Grenada to open district play, and Hairston said Tuesday’s contest will help them prepare for it.
“We wanted to have a win like that so we can get in here and clean up some stuff that I didn’t feel like we did very well and try to really focus,” Hairston said.
Other scores
Prep Girls Basketball
Itawamba Agricultural 66, Caledonia 43
FULTON — The Caledonia girls basketball team lost to Itawamba Agricultural 66-43 on Tuesday in Fulton.
Tenyzia Lathan had 12 points to lead the Cavaliers, and Amaiya Quinn scored seven.
Caledonia’s next game is Thursday against Smithville.
Starkville Academy 48, Winston Academy 34
STARKVILLE — The Starkville Academy girls earned a 48-34 win over Winston Academy in Tuesday’s home game.
Lillee Alpe had 13 points to lead the Volunteers. Fallon Parker added 11 for Starkville Academy.
Starkville Academy is scheduled to play Saturday at the Shan Whiteside Classic at DeSoto Central High School in Southaven.
Prep Boys Basketball
Starkville 73, Calhoun City 26
CALHOUN CITY — The Starkville High School boys improved to 8-0 with a 73-26 road win over Calhoun City on Tuesday.
Coltie Young led the Yellow Jackets with 27 points, and Makhi Myles added 13.
Itawamba Agricultural 56, Caledonia 37
Starkville Academy 63, Winston Academy 10
Prep Girls Soccer
Starkville 3, Kosciusko 0
KOSCIUSKO — The Starkville High School girls soccer team beat Kosciusko 3-0 in Tuesday’s road match.
Meg Rodgers and Skyler Miller had goals for the Yellow Jackets in the first half. Sara Pinzon scored in the second half.
Starkville’s next match is Jan. 2 at Saltillo.
Caledonia 1, Mooreville 0 (OT)
CALEDONIA — The Caledonia girls beat Mooreville 1-0 in overtime in Tuesday’s home match.
Jane Claire Newman had the winning goal for the Cavaliers.
Caledonia will host Shannon on Friday.
Prep Boys Soccer
Starkville 8, Kosciusko 0
KOSCIUSKO — The Starkville boys put up an 8-0 road win over Kosciusko on Tuesday.
Dominique Bush had four goals for the Yellow Jackets.
Ethan Pulliam had two, and Ashton Staton and Holloway Wilsey each had one.
Caledonia 7, Mooreville 0
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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