Eli Acker had to wait four years for it.
The Heritage Academy senior big man hadn’t dunked in a game since eighth grade, and he was well aware of it. So when an opportunity finally arose during the waning moments of Saturday’s home game against Tuscaloosa Academy, the 6-foot-6, 285-pound Acker jumped at the chance.
Making sure there were a few seconds left and no defenders in sight, before he approached the rim with force, Acker threw down a powerful one-handed dunk as the final buzzer sounded and beat his chest in exultation upon landing.
“He’s been trying to do it for a while,” senior point guard Reid Huskison said. “He’s been waiting for his chance, and he finally got it and actually dunked it. We were kind of surprised.
“We told him it’s about time,” Huskison added. “We’d been messing with him forever.”
Acker’s slam punctuated a 67-57 win for the Patriots (10-6) against the Knights on Saturday. The senior battled an illness that left him vomiting Friday night and often fatigued during Saturday’s game to put up 18 points and lead the Pats to victory.
“With these guys behind me, it’s easy to rally through it,” Acker said.
Jared Long and Reid Huskison each added 14 points for Heritage Academy, with Huskison hitting three 3-pointers for a torrid 11-point showing in the first quarter alone.
“Without him, we’d have started off real slow,” Acker said. “He got it off for us right. He had a big game tonight.”
Huskison’s hot hand gave the Pats a 17-10 lead after a quarter, but when he cooled off, his teammates stepped up, giving Heritage Academy a 29-24 halftime lead.
“That shows the kind of team we are and how focused we are right now,” Huskison said.
The Patriots wavered a bit in the second half, committing too many turnovers and allowing too many offensive rebounds in the eyes of coach Russ Whiteside, but they still managed to hold off the Knights, answering with a basket or making free throws whenever Tuscaloosa Academy really threatened.
“It just showed the kind of poise we had,” Huskison said. “I think most teams would have folded when they started getting up, and they went on a little run, but we just stayed poised and just did our thing and pulled out the W.”
Heritage Academy weathered 16 points from Mason Mulanix, 15 from Sam Rowley and 14 from Phil McDuff, the three of whom accounted for the large majority of the offense for the talented and athletic Knights.
“It was a great game for us because it was a really good team that we got to play against,” Whiteside said. “It was a good game for us from the standpoint that we did a lot of really good things, but I saw a lot of things that we could still work on and improve on.”
Outside of turnovers and offensive rebounds, Whiteside noted, the Patriots’ offense looked ‘a little sloppy’ at times Saturday, and he knows his team is capable of more.
“In our offense, we need to be more fluid and just sharpen it up a little bit,” Whiteside said.
The Patriots did that when they needed to, and it amounted to a big win before rival Starkville Academy comes into the Pats’ gym Tuesday. In Acker’s view, being able to hold on to win Saturday provided the confidence his team definitely needed.
“You’ve gotta win the mental battles all year long,” Acker said. “It just prepares you for the future and the tournaments, and that was just big for us.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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