BY DAVID MILLER
Special to the Dispatch
Friday, with his team trailing by a point and less than 10 seconds left in the Class 5A, Region 2 title game, New Hope High School forward Chris Mosley found himself in a familiar situation – with the ball in his hands.
Just four days prior, Mosley was the assist man on a drive-and-kick that resulted in a 3-pointer to sink West Point. Friday, against Oxford High, Mosley was the hero with a layup delicately kissed off the glass for a 45-44 win.
Mosley, who finished with 12 points, said he was motivated by the Trojans’ trophy drought.
“We hadn’t won district in like four years,” Mosley said, “and with the tournament being on our home court, we had to win this game.”
Mosley’s coach, Drew McBrayer, had no doubt Mosley would deliver.
“That’s what we drew up,” he said. “We had options with it, too, just in case they collapsed on him when he got to the basket. Chris is a senior, and he decided he was gonna put us on his back.”
Oxford coach Drew Taylor, who watched his team squander an eight-point second-half lead, said that even though his team forced Mosley into a tough shot, they didn’t react to the high screen correctly.
“I expected a drive, and I expected my guys to do what they were supposed to do – send him left,” Taylor said. “We let him come back to his right. They had a high screen, we didn’t help like we should have to push the ball left – that wasn’t the first time he’d done that tonight.”
New Hope (17-12) will host Yazoo City on Tuesday.
Oxford’s best chance to close out the game came at the line, where Shelby McEwen missed the front end of back-to-back one-and-one foul trips inside one minute, thus preserving Oxford’s slim one-point lead.
“We’re a seasoned enough ball team that we should be able to put a game like that away,” Taylor said. “But we have to make plays, and we didn’t get it done at the end.”
New Hope has won four straight and overcome deep deficits to win each of its last two games. The Trojans overcame a 17-point hole against West Point Tuesday.
The Trojans are no strangers to nail-biter games; they lose seven games this season by three points or fewer.
Heading into a play-in game for the North State tournament, McBrayer is relieved to see his team find a way to win close ball games. The Trojans’ last five games have been decided by four points or fewer.
“Instead of rushing so much or panicking, we played calm and found a way to get the win,” he said. “I’m proud of our kids.”
n New Hope girls 64, Oxford 58: Taylor Baudoin’s junior season has included surgery, rehab and a lot of time watching her teammate’s steamroll through opponents.
New Hope High’s versatile swing player missed 20 games this season, including most of the Lady Trojans’ Class 5A, Region 2 games. But in their most meaningful district game, Baudoin made good on a promise to coach Laura Lee Holman.
“We’ve been telling her she needs to step it up,” Holman said. “Tonight, she said, ‘coach, I’m ready for Oxford.”
Baudoin scored 13 points, including eight in the second half to help the Lady Trojans’ fend off a furious Oxford run and seal a 64-58 district title win.
The win set up a play-in game against Starkville High for the North State tournament on Monday.
For Baudoin, who fractured four metatarsals just five games into the season, Friday’s game marked her most complete performance.
“It was difficult, but I knew I’d be prepared for the district tournament,” she said. “It was just a very emotional game for me. Sitting out most of the season, this was big for me. I didn’t get to play a lot of district games, so this meant a lot to me.”
Oxford (20-6) entered the game having won six of its last seven games. But the Lady Chargers, who went undefeated last season and won the Class 5A state title, had suffered two blowout losses of 44 and 21 points to New Hope this season.
Oxford coach Shayne Linzy opted to run a box-and-1 defense on New Hope guard Moesha Calmes, which helped the Lady Chargers hold her to three points. Calmes carried four fouls late in the game and was a non-factor on the offensive end.
“I wish we would have run that in the other two games against New Hope,” Linzy said.
New Hope’s leading scorer, DJ Sanders, finished with 18; Kaitlin Bradley nailed a trio of 3-pointers and finished with 16. Baudoin’s production was a welcome boost against a motivated Oxford side that featured bruising forward Alexus Malone, who finished with 18.
“In the third quarter, [Baudoin] had some big-time baskets to help us build some momentum,” Holman said. “She said she was ready for Oxford, and she proved it.”
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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