CLINTON — All Starkville needed was a fast start to begin division play with a key road win.
Behind the play of Ladanuel Jordan and stingy defense, the Yellow Jackets raced past Clinton 61-41 in their Region 2-7A opener on Tuesday night.
“We wanted to kind of get back to the basics, so we just wanted to focus on the last couple days of getting back to playing hard and playing with effort,” said Starkville coach Anthony Carlyle. “The last game we didn’t do that and didn’t rebound the ball well, so tonight we came out with energy, made some mistakes, but the effort was there.”
Starkville (16-1, 1-0) never trailed.
The Jackets began the game on a 15-2 run and eventually held a 17-5 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Clinton picked up its scoring in the second quarter, but Starkville always found an answer as the Jackets outscored the Arrows 20-11 in the period to hold a 37-16 halftime lead.
The third quarter is when Starkville pulled away as the Yellow Jackets began the frame on a 9-6 run to take a commanding 46-22 lead and held a 53-25 lead heading into the fourth quarter to put the game well out of reach.
“We were active on defense and rotated well, rebounded the ball well that allowed us to get in transition and get easy buckets. If we’re playing that way, we’re a really good team. We’re in a tough region, so getting this one on the road is big,” Carlyle said. “Ladanuel is an old-school big man that’s physical around the basket. A lot of times, guys don’t want to defend down there, so he’s a load; we just try to get the ball inside to him and put pressure on the defense to see how they will defend him and use him to open up things for other guys.”
Jordan finished with 15 points to lead Starkville, while T.J. Warren and Jerwan McCarter each added 10 points for the Yellow Jackets.
“We played well defensively for the most part and offensively (I) just had to do what I do – be a big down low and make baskets,” Jordan said. “They couldn’t guard us down low, so we just had to use that to our advantage.”
Antione Harris had 15 points to lead Clinton (4-13, 0-1).
“They came out of the gate ready to play and we came out with a very slow start and gave up a lot of easy buckets,” said Clinton coach Joshua Luckett. “They were playing with a very high pace, and we weren’t making shots and getting back on defense. Starkville is a really good team and will get a lot of wins, so we got to get better each game and move forward.”
Both teams continue region play on Friday as Starkville hosts Madison Central, while Clinton travels to Murrah.
Starkville girls 57, Clinton 27
Logan Warren had 13 points, and Jade Brown added 12 points as the Lady Jackets (16-3, 1-0 Region 2-7A) ran past the Lady Arrows (10-7, 0-1) to begin region play.
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