NEW HOPE — Ty Crowell stood under the basket, transfixed, waiting for an answer.
The New Hope High School junior already knew he’d drawn a foul on his third-quarter layup attempt against Columbus High School on Friday, but he and his teammates stood and watched as the basketball circumnavigated the rim again and again.
When it finally dropped, after an interminable pause, the Trojans’ side of the bleachers leapt to life. Crowell directed his fingers at the ground in a “count it” motion. Head coach Drew McBrayer even snuck in a fist-pump.
New Hope had waited long enough.
It took the Trojans a while to get going, just like it took Crowell’s shot several seconds to fall through the net, but both seemed to happen at just about the same time for New Hope in a 54-40 home win over Columbus on Friday.
“I felt like that was kind of the one that sealed it for us,” McBrayer said. “To hear the gym come alive, it’s great for the kids.”
The Trojans (17-2, 6-0 MHSAA Class 5A, Region 2) pulled away from the Falcons (9-7, 3-3) in the third quarter, fueled by balanced scoring and a stalwart defensive effort. New Hope held Columbus to just 14 points in the second half and kept the Falcons scoreless for nearly the length of an entire quarter to earn the win.
“I thought we did a much better job in the second half of taking the easy stuff away from them,” McBrayer said.
Meanwhile, an equitable effort on offense helped the Trojans extend their lead after going into the half ahead 29-26. Sophomore LJ Hackman had 13 points, junior Caleb Parr had 12, and Crowell had 11.
“That’s what makes good teams,” Parr said. “When I’m not having a good night or they’re not having a good night, we pick each other up.”
Parr carried the weight on the defensive glass, limiting second- and third-chance points for the Falcons, as he helped New Hope gain a “competitive edge” against its crosstown rival by sweeping Columbus for the second straight regular season.
“We struggled offensively in the second half — couldn’t really make shots, gave up a lot of offensive rebounds,” Falcons coach Phillip Morris said. “I told them those types of things show who wanted it more at the end of the day.”
That proved to be New Hope, which took off on a 12-0 run beginning midway through the third quarter to go up by 14 points. The Trojans fought their way inside for layups and open jumpers rather than settling for contested 3-pointers, and their aggression paid off.
“We came out pushing the ball, everybody swinging, everything just good,” said Hackman, who scored six of his points in the third quarter.
Columbus, meanwhile, didn’t score again until just more than three minutes remained in the game. The Falcons’ first bucket made it 48-36, and Columbus only scored twice more before the final horn.
“We just couldn’t get the ball in the basket for a certain point in the game,” Morris said. “When it gets like that, it’s just hard on you.”
Columbus will take on Grenada in the Region 2-5A tournament, which the Falcons will host, at 6:15 p.m. Monday. The Falcons and Chargers split their two matchups this season.
New Hope, the district’s top seed, will face fourth-seeded West Point at 4 p.m. Monday. While the Trojans finished their regular season with a 17-2 record, it’s no longer relevant, McBrayer said.
“Guess what? Your record’s 0-0 now,” he told his players in the locker room after Friday’s win. “All that matters is next week and next game.”
Columbus girls 33, New Hope 22
Columbus coach Yvonne Hairston didn’t miss a beat when an errant pass from point guard DJ Jackson sailed right to her spot on the sideline during the third quarter.
Hairston neatly snagged the basketball and tossed it behind her back to an official on the baseline in one fluid motion.
Perhaps it was a sign that Hairston and the Falcons are finally finding a lasting rhythm.
Columbus played its second game in as many nights since returning from its second COVID-19 quarantine period of the season, but the defending MHSAA Class 5A champions were good enough to put up a 33-22 win over New Hope on Friday.
“They’re just resilient,” Hairston said. “They just keep pushing — just figuring out a way to win the ballgame.”
Friday night, that was through standout defense as neither team could score with ease. Myra King had all eight of her points in the first half as the Falcons led 22-10 at the break, and Makayla Rieves had a double-double with a team-high 11 points and 10 rebounds.
“We knew it was going to be difficult, but we just felt like if we kept pounding, kept pounding, then we would win the ballgame,” Hairston said.
The Falcons, who last played Jan. 15 before the pause, brought back some of their players on Monday. The rest returned to practice on Thursday, just hours before a rescheduled home game against Grenada — a 62-33 Columbus win.
And though the Falcons allowed fewer points to the Trojans than they did the Chargers, Hairston said her team’s defense wasn’t quite as sound Friday.
“Last night, we moved effectively on defense,” Hairston said. “Tonight, our legs were a little tired.”
New Hope coach Nick Christy said his team helped the Falcons out by taking too many difficult shots and missing the ones that should have been easy.
“We got looks,” he said. “We didn’t hit them.”
Christy praised his team’s defensive effort against Columbus, something he thinks will serve New Hope well in its district tournament opener at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday against Grenada. Although the Trojans and Chargers split their two matchups this year, New Hope beat Grenada in last year’s district semifinal on the Chargers’ home court, and Christy hopes things will be similar on a neutral floor at Columbus High.
The Falcons will host West Point, whom they will see Saturday morning in one final rescheduled game, in the other semifinal at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Hairston said her team is tired but ready to make another playoff push.
“We’ve just got to try to finish this thing up,” she said.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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 30 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.