STARKVILLE — When Starkville High School boys basketball coach Greg Carter started drawing up the first Travis Outlaw Slam Dunk at the Hump tournament, Friday’s game was what he wanted.
Rarely challenged in the first two months of the season, the top-ranked Yellow Jackets brought in three highly touted out-of-state opponents. Carter wanted to see how his players responded in pressure-packed situations against top-notched competition.
In the tournament finale at Humphrey Coliseum, Starkville did just fine and held off East High of Memphis, Tenn., 64-62 in a well-played game on the Mississippi State University campus.
“I thought I had scheduled three really tough games,” Carter said. “This is what I had envisioned this tournament to be. I wanted to play high, high level basketball. The kids took advantage of a wonderful opportunity today.”
Starkville (13-2) had won its first two games in the three-day event by a combined margin of 61 points. It is hard to judge high school basketball teams from the Southeast when comparisons are made more by numbers than video. Starkville did its part and played well in each of its first two tournament outings, while the opposition had been a little awe-struck by the Yellow Jackets’ speed, size, and athleticism.
On Friday, Starkville finally met its match. The Yellow Jackets led by as many as 11 in the first half and by as many as nine in the second half. Still, the game came down to a final possession as Stanley Childs and Tory Rice combined to block a desperation shot as the final horn sounded.
“The last three days have been big for this team,” Rice said. “Bottom line is we wanted to come out and have fun. Playing in the Hump was great, and we knew the crowd would be into it. We wanted to come out and take care of our business.
“In this game it was all about the defense. We knew if we played enough defense, the offense would come and we would win the game.”
East High (9-2) enjoyed its only leads at 2-0 and 4-2. Starkville responded with the game’s next six points and never trailed the rest of the way. Gavin Ware threw down a pair of dunks to spark the crowd and give the Yellow Jackets a 10-6 lead.
The lead was extended to 19-11 on a 3-pointer by Mike Brand as the first quarter expired.
Starkville used its muscle inside and a 3-pointer by Ravonte Gandy to extend the lead to 24-13. By this time, Ware, who has committed to play at MSU next season, had almost clinched the double-double as he was everywhere in the paint in the first half.
“There was a stage in the first half where Gavin took over the ballgame,” Carter said. “He dominated every aspect on both ends of the floor. On the biggest stage possible, he really took his game to another level. That play inside allowed us to open up the outside. Then, we made some 3-point shots.”
The Mustangs answered with their marksmen. Earvin Morris and Nick King hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the deficit to 28-23. The lead stayed right there as a putback by Latarius Brady brought East within 30-25 at halftime.
“We knew if we played defense, the game was ours,” Rice said. “Even though we have not played a lot of tight games, this is how we respond to them. We feel like if we can play lock-down defense, we can beat anybody.
“Offensively, we can score, so we know the points are going to come. The thing we learned about a game like this is how important it is to take care of the basketball. That is what we are learning to be better at.”
Starkville built the lead to six before King, a 6-foot-7 junior, took over. On one possession, King was fouled after banking in a 24-footer. After that four-point play, King rattled home another trey on his team’s next possession to cut the lead to 36-35.
Starkville responded with the game’s next seven points and led 45-40 entering the final period.
“They really didn’t have a lot of size,” Carter said. “They had length and athleticism but they didn’t have bulk. They were rotating big guys in off the bench. That is what we wanted because they gave them fewer scoring options on the floor.
“At different times, we had different guys step up. We made some big defensive plays to hang on.”
Starkville still held a 59-52 lead when Steve Brand nailed a 3-pointer with 3:24 remaining.
The Mustangs capitalized on a couple of turnovers caused by full-court pressure to make one last stab. After closing to 62-60, East took over after Starkville missed the front end of a one-plus-one with less than one minute remaining. The Mustangs missed two shots before King was fouled on a putback attempt. He hit 1 of 2 free throws and Starkville secured the rebound with 16 seconds left.
The Yellow Jackets then got two free throws by Jacolby Mobley with 11 seconds left. On the other end, Starkville fouled East on purpose with just a handful of seconds left.
King hit the first and missed the second intentionally, but the Mustangs secured the rebound with 0.5 seconds left. After a timeout, King’s off-balance jump shot in the lane was batted down and Starkville had secured a 3-0 run through its invitational.
“It is hard to build consistency when you don’t play games on this level every night,” Carter said. “This is why we have played these types of teams in the classics and tournaments. We have played Callaway, Provine, Lanier, Ridgeway (Tenn.) and then these three games here this week. We don’t back down from a challenge.”
After winning its first 10 games, Starkville lost twice in the Columbus-hosted Joe Horne Christmas Classic. Those setbacks made the squad hungry to ring in the new year on a different note.
“I have learned a lot about my team in these last two tournaments,” Carter said. “They have learned a lot, too. What they have learned is that if we don’t come to play and play right for 32 minutes, we will get beat. However, this team has also learned when they play the type of ball they are capable of playing, we can just about beat anybody.”
Ware finished with 20 points, while Rice and Steve Brand each had 13 points.
King led East with 31 points, while Earvin Morris had 12.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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