WEST POINT — For three quarters, the Starkville High School boys basketball team tried with little success to put West Point away. In the fourth quarter, Starkville coach Greg Carter wanted his team to create separation to earn a road win.

Senior Josh Skinner heeded Carter’s wishes.

With Starkville leading West Point by three points halfway through the fourth quarter, Skinner drilled a 3-pointer from the baseline in front of Starkville’s bench to double the lead and allow his team to go on to a 63-52 victory.

“I thought Josh Skinner had the biggest shot of the game,” said Carter, whose team improved to a 4-0. “We weren’t finishing plays on either end of the court. We weren’t finishing on offense and we weren’t getting stops on defense. Finally we hit a big shot to help us pull away a little bit.”

Skinner’s shot, which came on the heels of a 12-5 West Point run, moved Starkville’s advantage to 53-47 with four minutes remaining. It also triggered a game-ending 13-5 run that helped the Yellow Jackets seal the deal.

“I was proud of our effort tonight,” said West Point coach Brad Cox, whose team fell to 1-3. “Starkville is one of the great programs in the state, the kind of team you measure yourself against. I thought our kids played extremely hard, but Starkville made the plays they needed to make to win this game.”

After Starkville used 12 first-half points from junior Tyson Carter to build a 32-25 lead, the Yellow Jackets couldn’t shake the Green Wave in the second half. West Point opened the third quarter with an 8-3 run to climb back into the game, and Starkville’s lead reached as little as two points late in the third quarter. But Tyson Carter, the coach’s son, connected on a 25-foot 3-pointer at the third quarter buzzer to push Starkville’s lead back to five entering the final period.

“Tyson hit some big shots,” Greg Carter said.

In the fourth quarter, West Point cut its deficit to two points three times. With six minutes remaining, West Point trailed 45-43 and missed four consecutive free throws. Moments later, Skinner’s critical three-pointer helped Starkville pull away.

Starkville’s mastery at the free-throw line — the Yellow Jackets were 24 of 27 — provided the difference. West Point was 16 of 27 from the free-throw line

“We finished well,” Greg Carter said. “We didn’t play perfect and we had trouble making plays on offense, but we made plays at the end of the game that helped us win.

“This team is young and we are inexperienced, but we are learning to win. West Point had a great game plan tonight.”

Tyson Carter led all scorers with 21 points. He was 9-for-9 from the free-throw line. Skinner, one of only two seniors, added 13. Keith Harris and Jesse Little had nine and eight, respectively.

West Point followed the lead of point guard Jamarquez Randle, who had12 points. Kelly Martin added 11 and Randle Johnson 10.

Starkville 63, West Point 49

Starkville’s girls struggled to pull away from West Point before a strong finish helped the Lady Yellow Jackets earn a 14-point win.

“We were able to go to our bench, that was the difference,” Starkville coach Kristie Williams said. “Our top players weren’t as effective as we needed them to be, but our bench bailed us out and helped us stay afloat until the starters began playing better late in the game.”

Williams lauded backups like Acacia McBride and Timber Halbert for starting the fire for Starkville (4-0), which outscored West Point 29-21 in final two quarters.

Eryka Williams led Starkville with 14 points, while McBride added 11 and Kelsey Jones scored 10. Qaiyon Bailey had a game-high 19 points for West Point. Shamaya Lyles and Tia McCary had 12 points.

Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat