Heritage Academy boys basketball coach Yandell Harris stressed one thing to his squad Tuesday night: Rebound the basketball on the defensive end.
The players took the veteran coach’s advice to heart as they dominated the defensive rebounds en route to a 46-30 victory.
The schools split the doubleheader at Heritage Academy, as the Lady Volunteers rolled to a 67-42 victory in the opener.
“Rebounding the ball was the key to victory,” Heritage junior guard Brad Dickey said. “We knew they had been struggling to score, so if we allowed them only one shot that was going to help our chances of winning. Our defense was really solid. That and rebounding is what allowed us to win.”
Harris expected the Volunteers to shoot some 3-pointers. The guests more than obliged in the opening half, attempting 16.
“We just had to block out and make sure we got the miss,” Harris said. “We thought they would shoot a lot, but they did even more than we expected. We wanted to pack the lane and make sure they shot from the outside. I am really proud of the kids for their effort tonight. They took the game plan did a great job of executing it.”
Hampered by injury, Starkville Academy (7-12) has been looking for answers at the point guard position. Many teams have pressured the Volunteers in recent weeks and forced a series of back-court turnovers. Against Heritage Academy (8-5), Starkville Academy did a much better job of executing its half-court offense and got a number of quality looks but couldn’t convert.
“We are looking for answers,” Starkville Academy coach Mark Alexander said. “We got some good looks at the basket but had trouble getting shots to go down. Defensively, we played well and hung in there.”
The Volunteers built an early 8-4 lead. Starkville Academy then went better than eight minutes without another field goal. The Patriots scored the final nine points of the first quarter and stretched the run to 12-0 when Colby Upton hit his second 3-pointer for a 16-8 advantage.
“Colby stepped up and made a couple of critical 3-point baskets,” Harris said. “That gave us some breathing room early. We had some good ball movement and did a good job of getting the ball underneath where we had an advantage.”
Heritage Academy center Bobby McGrath dominated in the paint with a game-high 18 points. Cade Lott added 11 points.
“We ran the floor and did well in transition tonight,” Dickey said. “We got some easy baskets early and that deflated Starkville a little bit. After that, we just did some real good things on the defensive end.”
The hosts carried a 24-13 lead into halftime. A basket by Zach Thomas brought the Volunteers within 26-20 midway through the third quarter. Later, back-to-back scores by Carnail Minor brought Starkville within 29-24.
The Volunteers then suffered through another seven-minute scoring draught. By the time, Minor snapped his team’s streak of 13 straight 3-point misses, Heritage had a 40-27 lead.
“You can see some growth and maturity from this team,” Harris said. “They have always played with great effort. Now, they are playing with a little more basketball sense and more cohesion.”
Minor finished with a game-high 12 points for the Volunteers.
In the opener, the Lady Volunteers (19-3) scored the game’s first 10 points and cruised to victory.
“I think we overwhelmed them early,” Starkville Academy coach Glenn Schmidt said. “That is what you want to do on the road. This is a rivalry, so you knew Heritage was going to play hard for four quarters. However, the strong start is what really led us to victory.”
The Lady Volunteers led 14-3 after one quarter. Starkville Academy then opened the second quarter with 13 straight points to remove all doubt.
“We really struggled early,” said Harris, who is also coaching the Heritage Academy girls for the balance of the season. “Once we found an offensive rhythm, I thought we really competed. The effort was there, but we struggled to answer their early attack.”
After Starkville Academy led 31-11 at halftime, the teams battled on even terms in the final half.
Still, the Lady Patriots had no answers for Anna Lea Little. Whether it was dishing out an assist, rebounding the ball, or scoring a basket, the junior did it all, scoring 24 points. Sallie Kate Richardson added 19 points.
“We were able to get some outside shots to go down,” Schmidt said. “Then from a rebounding standpoint we made some things happen. We had the opportunity to get out and create some easy scoring opportunities. That is what allowed us to keep the lead.”
Sallie Gardner led Heritage Academy with 12 points, while Jessie Householder had 10.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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