COLUMBUS – Just when it was looking like New Hope’s girls basketball team was pulling away from rival Columbus Tuesday night, the game took a dramatic turn in the visiting Falcons’ favor.
Missed shots and turnovers had left Columbus in a 36-22 hole at halftime and the Trojans picked up the shovel and added a few more feet in the third quarter when they tacked on four straight points right out the gate.
The energy of the once-rowdy Falcons’ seemed to hit a lull until Jakaya Elliott drained a 3-pointer, and all of a sudden, Columbus seemed to get its mojo back. Bri’Asia Simms sunk another shot from downtown and Kamryn Coats added a layup right before the third-quarter buzzer cut the team’s deficit to only eight points, and the crew maintained its momentum into the final frame and took the lead on an emphatic Cheryle Woodrick 3-pointer.
All of the sudden, the Region 1-5A-leading Trojans were looking dazed and searching for answers. Their solution? Jalicia McShane and Tyrianna Frison. McShane delivered two clutch lead-taking 3-pointers in the final two minutes, and Frison banked in a layup to cement New Hope’s 58-54 victory over Columbus.
“We got a little stagnant there on offense. We were making some really good plays and running through our stuff, and then some of the things we were running we started rushing some shots and probably took some shots we probably shouldn’t have taken,” New Hope head coach Nick Christy said. “So, it took me a little while to get us settled back down and (Columbus) started chipping away at the lead and turned the thing into a game there. But, I was definitely proud of the way we responded.”
The climactic win for the Trojans (15-5, 7-2) gave them the season sweep over the Falcons and furthered their grip on the No. 1 spot in the region. Frison led the team with 25 points on four made 3s, and McShane finished with 17 points on three shots from downtown. Columbus (8-11, 4-3) got big nights from both Simms and Mackenzie Lowery, who combined for 31 points. Lowery led the team with 17 points, including nine in the fourth quarter, and Simms had 14 points, with eight of those coming in the fourth. The Falcons hold fast in the No. 4 spot in the region standings and look to bounce back at 6 p.m. tomorrow at West Point. The Trojans keep chasing their goal of capturing the region title against visiting Lafayette at 6 p.m. Friday.
Columbus boys 66, New Hope 47
It didn’t long for New Hope to find the back of the net Thursday against the visiting Falcons. Christian McDavis took the opening tip and immediately chased in a shot from deep in the corner to put the Trojans on top 3-0 before anyone could blink. Columbus didn’t flinch, move or look dazed at all. They just went straight to work. The Falcons quickly flashed why they look primed to compete for a 5A state championship as they sliced through the Trojans’ defense for easy layups, good looks on jump shots – and a few highlight slam dunks – for 15 straight points to open the game.
As quickly as New Hope scored, the game looked just as easy to the Falcons, who sailed mostly smoothly to a 66-47 win, the team’s 14th in a row. Their speed, size, skill and athleticism was just too much for New Hope to handle. The Trojans, though, didn’t go down without a fight, and the Falcons occasionally had trouble stopping a few of their runs.
New Hope clawed its way to within nine, 27-18, at halftime and kept pace with the talented Falcons (18-5, 7-0) in the third quarter, only getting outscored 21-19.
Heading into the final frame, Columbus felt that its 48-37 advantage wasn’t good enough and kicked its offense into high gear. Michael Hood gashed New Hope with high-flying layup after high-flying layup to the tune of 11 points in the quarter and Max Leach contributed five points to help. Columbus head coach Phillip Morris, though, wasn’t pleased that his team had to keep turning its heat back up every time New Hope began to get close. That’s not championship basketball, he said.
“They hit that first 3 and then we kind of took off on them a little bit. I think we just kind of got relaxed and they got back into it,” Morris said. “We would kind of take off again (then) we are relaxed. This is what I’ve been preaching all year, to stay in focus in games like that. We know the talent gap is kind of big between us and the other teams in our district, so I’ve been preaching every game that we need to stay focused. When we get up, stay up and go ahead and get games over with. I think we have to look at that game and move on. (It’s) still a good win, it’s a rivalry game, but we still have to be better.”
Hood finished the game with 22 points, and DJ Verdell helped out with 16 points. Josiah Bluitt led the Trojans (8-13, 5-3) with 16 points, including a spree of eight in the third quarter. McDavis scored eight points and both Caleb Jordan and Pierre Ross Jr. helped out with five points each.
“We had a lot more energy defensively than the last time we played them, which kind of helped us settle in a little bit easier,” New Hope head coach Drew McBrayer said. “(We) had our chances there in the first half to even close it more. We missed a layup at the end of and had an open look a couple trips before that which would have cut it to (a) six (-point game). Then (we) lost a little bit of momentum going into halftime and then when (we) came out in the second half they gained a little bit of momentum and we were kind of chasing a little bit. They are so good offensively and so tough to guard. They create matchup problems against you and it’s difficult.”
Columbus looks to continue its rampage through Region 1-5A on Friday at West Point while New Hope, third in the conference standings, looks for improvement on Friday at Lafayette.
“We’re working everyday to improve and try to become the best basketball team we can,” McBrayer said. “That’s the message that we’ve been preaching for months now and it’s starting to come around a little bit. They’re starting to figure things out a little more. We’ve had a more successful district run than we did nonconference style, so they’re growing into their roles a little bit. We just have to keep battling.”
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