NEW HOPE — It was a rout.
New Hope boys basketball had extended a nine-point halftime lead over West Lowndes to 30 points by the third quarter and began to empty its bench.
The ball was firmly in the court of the Trojans, but things were about to get wild in the fourth quarter. Among the players subbed in was senior Cole Monahan, regularly a bench player, but on Tuesday, he was the star of the show.
Getting the ball down low in the final minutes of regulation, Monahan backed down a Panthers defender and sunk a baby hook in the lane, his first basket in a New Hope uniform.
It capped off a dominant performance from the Trojans, who defeated West Lowndes, 92-63.
“Once we got focused in on the game and we were playing defense like we’re supposed to, it was much better,” New Hope head coach Drew McBrayer said. “… I think they did a great job of sharing the basketball and playing with each other.”
Things didn’t really get out of hand in favor of New Hope (9-6) until the second half as West Lowndes stayed in the ball game.
A rough start to the game from the Trojans kept the Panthers (8-8) in the game as they played competitive up until the halftime buzzer.
While New Hope was able to build a somewhat sizable lead, it was close — until the turnover bug hit West Lowndes hard, and the Trojans immediately took advantage.
“That hurt us a lot,” West Lowndes head coach Michael Huffman said. “They got open looks off those turnovers, and once they got going, it was tough to stop.”
New Hope outscored West Lowndes, 52-31, in the second half, scoring a good chunk of those points off fastbreak opportunities.
Three-pointers were dropping for the Trojans, but the fact that they were able to get so many open looks in the lane, often being the first to the basket on the other side of the floor, made the difference in the end.
Having both work in unison, however, was a match made in heaven.
“It was just trust in them to give me the ball, allowing me to have confidence,” Trojans guard Matthew Stennis said.
Stennis jointly led New Hope in scoring on Tuesday with 20 points, knocking down five 3-pointers in the process.
Teammate TJ Warren equaled Stennis with a 20-point night, knocking down five 3s of his own. All told, the Trojans hit 11 triples on the night, with 78 of New Hope’s 92 points coming from its starters.
It was an emotional night for Stennis, who recently lost his grandfather, and he channeled that into a fantastic performance.
“This game was really dedicated to him,” Stennis said.
Since losing to Starkville on Dec. 17, New Hope has strung together a four-game winning streak. Facing crosstown rival Columbus in their first district game on Friday night, the Trojans will look to make it five straight.
West Lowndes will look to rebound against Noxubee County on Saturday evening.
New Hope girls 49, West Lowndes 33
Heading into the fourth quarter on Tuesday night, West Lowndes — coming off a 12-point third quarter — was leading New Hope, 25-22.
While it wasn’t pretty, the Panthers were finding ways to score and keep a small cushion against the Trojans.
However, things changed and changed fast in the fourth quarter.
New Hope began pressuring West Lowndes at midcourt, causing errant passes and a multitude of turnovers that led to a 27-point outburst and an eventual 49-33 victory.
“What we tried to do in the second half was negate their ability to drive in the lane,” New Hope head coach Nick Christy said. “By backing things up a bit, we were trying to make them pass it out and hope for deflections and turnovers.”
“It was a game adjustment, and I credit the girls for running with that.”
The complexion of everything changed in favor of the Trojans (5-8), who needed to break a recent string of losses.
On the other side, Tuesday’s loss was a teaching moment for the Panthers (4-9), a team struggling to close out games when having the lead late.
“We just have to keep playing and try to finish the game,” West Lowndes head coach Shaquinta Robinson said. “Our biggest thing is limiting turnovers, especially our live-ball turnovers. We just have to continue to work.”
The fourth quarter was dominated by New Hope guard Lailah Henderson, who scored nearly half of the Trojans’ points in the quarter — 13 of her game-high 15 points.
Wins like this have been hard to come by for New Hope, and with district play starting on Friday, getting back on track is crucial.
“Us getting ready for district, we are really learning and focusing on what we need to do to speed teams up to get turnovers and get fast breaks going,” Henderson said.
The fast breaks for New Hope look to continue against Columbus while West Lowndes, a team dealing with its own struggles, has a tough matchup against Noxubee County ahead Saturday.
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