STARKVILLE — The Heritage Academy boys basketball team was tired of being pushed around.
Sure, the Patriots knew being outmatched on the offensive glass was somewhat expected against a bigger Starkville Academy team in Tuesday’s contest. For one half, that was exactly what happened as the Volunteers “bullied” — as Heritage Academy freshman Whit Altmyer put it — the Pats inside to take a 24-18 lead into halftime in Starkville.
Then Heritage Academy came out of the visitors’ locker room with a renewed purpose. Soon, the roles were reversed.
Sophomore Mack Howard and Altmyer each hit 3-pointers to tie the game, Jonathan Peal hit a layup for the lead, and those crucial rebounds that fell Starkville Academy’s way early in the contest seemed to suddenly reverse direction. Sixteen minutes of basketball after going into halftime down in every sense of the word, the Pats (7-3, 1-0 district) left the floor with a hard-earned 46-42 victory over the Vols (8-3, 0-1).
“We’re glad to get out of here with a win any way we can get it,” Heritage Academy coach Russ Whiteside said.
Tuesday, that triumph stemmed from a number of areas, including several quick scoring runs and poise under pressure late. Heritage Academy jumped out to an early 11-2 lead, had the aforementioned 8-0 run to open the third quarter and scored seven straight to grab a 40-34 lead with four minutes, 52 seconds remaining in the game.
“We need to be more consistent so that those kinds of situations don’t happen,” Starkville Academy coach Bill Ball said. “… When you know you’re not going to score in periods of time, you can’t let that inefficiency on the offense carry over to the defensive end.”
Ball credited his team’s effort but admitted that when the Vols weren’t connecting from the field, there wasn’t much they could do.
“If a shot or two falls, maybe we’re having a different conversation,” Ball said.
Instead, the talk will be about Heritage Academy’s second-half resurgence after a second quarter in which the Pats managed just five points and allowed 11.
“In the second quarter, we kind of hit a dry spell and made some unforced turnovers,” Whiteside said. “To come back out in the third quarter and respond, I was proud of our young guys.”
Altmyer said the Pats were motivated to beat a Starkville Academy team their coach referred to as among the top three in the state. He led the way with 15 points and Howard had 13 as Heritage Academy achieved its goal Tuesday.
“I thought it felt really good for us to beat that team, so it was a big game,” Altmyer said. “We needed a win.”
To secure it, the Pats needed one more possession. With a six-point lead cut to just two and just six seconds on the clock, Heritage Academy broke the Vols’ press as Howard inbounded and Sam Hannon found Trey Naugher for an open layup to stretch the lead to four as the final horn sounded.
Heritage Academy celebrated like Naugher’s score had just delivered them a game-winner, but of course, the moment was perhaps just as important for the Patriots.
“Coming in here, it’s hard to win,” Altmyer said. “Getting the win really means a lot to us.”
Ball, too, acknowledged the importance of a win in Tuesday’s district opener after three straight losses. But he said more victories are set to come soon enough.
“We’re going to make shots at some point when it matters, and our best basketball is somewhere down the road,” he said.
Heritage Academy girls 27, Starkville Academy 23
Before the Heritage Academy girls faced Starkville Academy on Tuesday, Patriots coach Moe Reed reminded her team how the rivalry contest would likely play out.
“This is going to be a close game,” Reed told her players. “It always is.”
Reed proved to be right, and she made sure the Patriots came out on the winning side.
The Heritage Academy coach made the necessary defensive adjustments to limit Volunteers stars Lillee Alpe and Caroline Wood, and her players took the message to heart en route to a 27-23 win over the Volunteers (6-5, 0-1 district).
“Any time we can come in and execute a defensive plan like this is huge for us, and it shows that my kids are really listening and buying into what I’m telling them,” Reed said.
Heritage Academy (5-7, 1-0) went into halftime trailing 17-14 but kept Starkville Academy off the board entirely in the third quarter, taking a 21-17 lead into the fourth.
The Vols fought back to tie the contest 23-23, but four free throws in the final minute sealed the win for Heritage Academy and left Starkville Academy wondering where its offensive rhythm went.
“Defense, we were there,” Vols coach Marianne Ward said. “Offense, it was like we were just kind of out of it.”
Alpe led Starkville Academy with 11 points, and Wood had eight. For the Patriots, a pair of freshmen made a big impact: Reagan Merchant had eight points, and Chloe Boyd had 10 plus a steal as the Vols looked to tie it late, a play Reed called “the icing on the cake.”
“It just kind of came down to defensive stops, and we got lucky here and there to have one or two more stops than they did,” Reed said.
Heritage Academy’s next game is Thursday at home against powerhouse Leake Academy, while Starkville Academy travels to face East Rankin Academy on Friday in Pelahatchie.
Other scores
Prep Girls Basketball
New Hope 69, Houston 31
NEW HOPE — The New Hope girls basketball team handled Houston 69-31 in Tuesday’s home game.
Taylor Brownlee and Anna Prince each had 16 points for the Trojans. Madyson McBrayer added 15.
New Hope will host West Point on Friday.
West Lowndes 53, McAdams 25
McADAMS — The West Lowndes girls beat McAdams 53-25 in Tuesday’s road game.
Tydajasha Hood led the Panthers with 15 points. Nenah Young scored 12, and Averi Sanders had nine.
West Lowndes’ next game is Thursday against Caledonia.
Columbus Christian Academy 59, Newton County Academy 40
STEENS — The Columbus Christian Academy girls stayed hot with a 59-40 home win over Newton County Academy on Tuesday.
Audrey Foreman had 15 points for the Rams. CC DeVos had 14, and Morgan Whitten and Faith Yeates each had 10.
Columbus Christian will play at Winona Christian on Thursday.
Carroll Academy 44, Oak Hill Academy 35
CARROLLTON — The Oak Hill Academy girls lost Tuesday’s road game at Carroll Academy, 44-35.
Mary Beth Briggs led the Raiders with 11 points. Carley Wooten added 10 for Oak Hill.
The Raiders’ next game is Friday at Winona Christian.
Hebron Christian 36, Kemper Academy 34
DE KALB — The Hebron Christian girls held off Kemper Academy with a 36-34 road win Tuesday.
Lindsey Daniels led the Eagles with 11 points. Elisha Carter scored nine for Hebron, and Amber Wedel had eight.
Hebron’s next game is Friday at home against Carroll Academy.
Pickens Academy (Ala.) 59, North River Christian Academy (Ala.) 6
CARROLLTON, Ala. — The Pickens Academy (Alabama) girls routed North River Christian Academy (Alabama) 59-6 in Tuesday’s home game.
Kate Wilkins had 22 points for the Pirates. Baylee Jaynes had 12, Lizzie Noland had nine, and Lily Lowery and Lily Dee had six apiece.
The Pirates held North River Christian scoreless in the first half.
Pickens will host Russell Academy (Alabama) on Monday.
Mooreville 46, Caledonia 42, OT
Starkville 41, South Panola 23
Prep Boys Basketball
New Hope 70, Houston 55
NEW HOPE — The New Hope boys earned a 70-55 win over Houston at home Tuesday.
LJ Hackman led the Trojans with 21 points. Eric Caldwell added 16, Caleb Parr had 14, and Jorden Edwards had 12.
Caledonia 66, Mooreville 57
CALEDONIA — Jarvis Leigh had 18 points as the Caledonia boys beat Mooreville 66-57 in Tuesday’s home game.
Freshmen Issac Grady and Tylen Simpson had 16 and 11 points, respectively. Jeremy Emerson had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Caledonia’s next game is Thursday at West Lowndes.
Newton County Academy 56, Columbus Christian Academy 36
STEENS — The Columbus Christian boys suffered a 56-36 home loss to Newton County Academy in Tuesday’s district opener.
Joe Michael Edwards scored 16 points to lead the Rams. Drake Shaw had seven, and Jackson Howard had six.
Oak Hill Academy 33, Carroll Academy 32
CARROLLTON — Oak Hill’s boys team pulled out a 33-32 win at Carroll Academy on Tuesday.
Manning Huffman had 11 points to lead the Raiders.
Pickens Academy (Ala.) 38, North River Christian Academy (Ala.) 33
CARROLLTON, Ala. — The Pickens boys beat North River Christian in Tuesday’s home game, 38-33.
Rafe Brown had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Pirates. William Parker had seven points, and Drake Lowery and Aidan Johnson each had six.
Hayden Dyer had 10 rebounds for Pickens.
West Lowndes 66, McAdams 57
Starkville 78, South Panola 56
Kemper Academy 53, Hebron Christian 46
Prep Girls Soccer
Columbus 5, West Point 2
Johnasia O’Neal had four goals for Columbus High School as the Falcons girls beat West Point 5-2 in Tuesday’s home match.
Josephine Facella had both goals for the Green Wave.
Columbus will host Grenada on Friday.
Caledonia 4, Pontotoc 1
PONTOTOC — The Caledonia girls team beat Pontotoc 4-1 in Tuesday’s road match.
Jane Claire Newman, Lauren Brown, Chloe Brewer and Brooke Hall all scored goals for the Cavaliers.
Caledonia’s next match is Friday at Itawamba Agricultural in Fulton.
Tupelo 2, Starkville 0
Prep Boys Soccer
West Point 3, Columbus 2
The West Point boys soccer team held off Columbus with a 3-2 road win on Tuesday.
Antonio Facella had two goals for the Green Wave, and Ben Harrell had one.
West Point is set to host Winona on Thursday.
Pontotoc 4, Caledonia 1
PONTOTOC — The Caledonia boys lost 4-1 in Tuesday’s match at Pontotoc.
Logan Burges had the lone goal for the Cavaliers.
Tupelo 3, Starkville 0
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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