Starkville Academy senior Raegan Richardson heard the chant.

It was like music to his ears.

As the final seconds of Starkville Academy’s 47-42 basketball win over Heritage Academy ticked off the clock, a boisterous Starkville Academy student section chanted “Just like football.”

When the rivals met on the football field earlier this year, Starkville Academy won. The Volunteers would later win a Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Class AAA state championship.

Richardson had a big had in that win. Again Friday, he was doing his magic with a team-high 14 points as the Volunteers beat their rival to start district play on the right foot.

“To beat Heritage at home, as a senior, it means everything,” Richardson said. “It’s good to win the first district game but it’s far more than that. It’s beating Heritage. You don’t ever want to lose to those guys.”

Starkville Academy (7-2) had to work hard to get the job done Friday night. The Volunteers trailed 19-13 midway through the second quarter. Coach Bruce Allsup switched to a zone defense.

The move was multi-faceted. The Volunteers were trying to slow the Patriots’ inside game, while also protecting some key players, who were in first-half foul trouble.

Starkville Academy would ease into a halftime with a 22-21 lead after back-to-back 3-pointers from Taylor Ray and Richardson.

“Sophomore Taylor Ray came in the first half and really gave us some great minutes,” Allsup said. “He knocked down a really big 3-pointer when we were struggling. I can’t say enough about the heart of this team. Their will and determination were keys to the victory tonight.”

Senior Noah Methvin went to the bench less than three minutes into the contest with a pair of fouls. Methvin helped quarterback the victory over Heritage Academy during football season. Friday night, he spent a lot of time coaching, frequently coming off the bench to direct players on the floor.

“It was a tough stretch for us as a team, I think we really grew up,” Allsup said. “Sometimes, you just have to find answers.”

The biggest answer turned out to be the zone defense. Heritage Academy (6-5) hit 4 of 26 shots from 3-point range and finished the contest with 26 percent shooting from the field. Outside shots were not falling. Inside passes were being batted away and turned into transition baskets.

“We did a lot of things well on defense,” Starkville Academy sophomore Trey Tyler said. “That is what we needed to wake the offense up. Playing Heritage, you know it is going to be an intense, physical game. You just have to go out there and play hard. This win will do a lot for us.”

Heritage Academy would actually score the first six points of the third quarter to build a 27-22 lead. Starkville Academy put the hammer down from there, with a third quarter-ending 15-2 run.

“It’s all about consistency,” Heritage Academy coach Russ Whiteside said. “That has been the story of our season. We play well for a quarter and then don’t play well for quarter. We have players who can play. We show those flashes. We just have be more consistent. Guard hard for four quarters. Make shots for four quarters. We had a stretch on offense where we couldn’t get anything going.”

As the Volunteers went on their game-decisive run, an energized student section began to pick up the intensity in the stands, as well.

“Once we hit a couple of shots, that got everybody going,” Richardson said. “We were in trouble early but the coaches told us to keep battling. They missed some shots and we were able to take advantage of that.”

Allsup likes the progression of his team. The Volunteers are beginning to round into form after having their schedule delayed greatly due to the state championship run in football.

“It just feels like we are getting started,” Allsup said. “It took a while to get the whole team together and healthy. The main thing has been practice time. We have worked hard at getting better. I think this win shows some of the strides we have made.”

Richardson feels the same way.

“This team has a lot of potential,” Richardson said. “We will look like a different team in January. Right now, it’s a matter of practicing and playing some games and getting better. This win will be a huge confidence boost going forward.”

Richardson had 14 points and nine rebounds to lead the Volunteers, while Tyler had 13 points. Brady Richardson had eight points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Dontae Gray led Heritage Academy with 14 points.

n Starkville Academy girls 65, Heritage Academy 35: The opener also turned in the second quarter.

This time, the Lady Volunteers trailed 23-9 before scoring the final 14 points of the half.

It would eventually become a 35-2 run as the Lady Patriots would held to four points in the third quarter.

“Not sure if it was exams or the holidays or what,” said Allsup, who also coaches the SA girls. “Even when we were down 14, I told them to settle down and play and we could win by 20. Turns out, we won by 30. We missed so many shots in the first quarter and that was not going to continue.”

Starkville Academy (7-9) did miss 12 of 14 shots in the first quarter but recovered to shoot 36 percent for the game. The turnaround came behind the 3-point line, where Starkville Academy made 10 of 33 attempts.

“It took a while to get the offense going,” Starkville Academy freshman Lillee Alpe said. “Once we made a couple of shots, everybody’s confidence went to another level. Nobody was concerned. We were just frustrated.”

Back-to back 3’s by Aubree Campbell got things going for the Lady Volunteers. Mary Peyton Passons hit the game-tying trey.

“The zone defense came up really big for us,” Allsup said. “We went from the 1-3-1 to the zone. I wasn’t sure they could match us from outside like that.”

Alpe scored six of her team’s first eight points to start the second half. The Lady Volunteers kept up the pressure and blew the contest open.

“Our defense was so much better after the first quarter,” Alpe said. “That was the key to victory.”

Passons and Alpe each finished with 19 points, while Campbell had 13 points.

Heritage Academy received 15 points from Bailey Harris.

Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott

Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.