STARKVILLE — The Starkville High School boys basketball team has played several games since its 38-33 loss to Columbus in early December.
However, the Jackets were ready to reflect and to move forward Friday night at the Bee Hive.
Behind a near flawless defensive performance, Starkville evened the season with its archrival by posting a 59-44 victory in Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A, Region 3 action.
“(The earlier) loss has been in the back of our minds, the front of our minds, all over our minds,” Starkville coach Greg Carter said. “One game does not define a season. However, this was a region game and a rivalry game. It was very important to us. We didn’t play well the first time. We wanted to play with a different energy level and see what we could make happen.”
Starkville (15-2, 3-1 region) has prided itself on tenacious defense this season. In the loss to Falcons, the Yellow Jackets had their worst shooting night. A team undersized most nights, Starkville always feels defending and rebounding can lead to the big run.
“For whatever reason, we didn’t score (in the first meeting),” Starkville senior Fontavius Smith said. “Our job is to go hard on the defensive end. We try to defend on every possession. We feel like that will eventually lead to offense and to some easy baskets. We really wanted to even the series up, so we knew we had to play better. This was our kind of game, where we played really hard on defense and then we got the ball out in transition.”
Starkville eased to a 29-21 halftime advantage. The Yellow Jackets turned up the defensive pressure and had the final two of three 8-0 runs to pull away.
“Our defensive pressure is the key,” Carter said. “We want to be selective when we run, but we don’t want to run with you. With our size, we are not going to have a huge rebounding advantage. We have to stay within ourselves. The kids have done a tremendous job of that all year.
“We know our identity. We have to defend and force turnovers. We have to cause the other team problems. If we are able to do that and get some easy baskets, we will be fine. We feel like somewhere in the second half, we are capable of making a run.”
Zeb Rice and Richard Evans each drew a pair of fouls in the opening quarter and forced the Yellow Jackets to make changes. Those difficulties and strong play by C.J. Scott and Brandon Porter allowed Columbus (12-6, 2-3) to hang tough.
In the third quarter, Starkville turned up its defensive pressure. Starkville has been dominant throughout the season with only two losses — both at Columbus in the regular season and in a tournament game at the Joe Horne Christmas Classic.
“They played a lot tougher than we did,” Columbus coach Sammy Smith said. “We were fortunate in the first game because we played the better defensive game. This time, Starkville attacked us. They really out-toughed us on some loose balls. We didn’t have enough answers on offense.
“We have a good team. We just have to work consistency and learn how to play a little tougher when you are playing to beat a really good team on their home floor. They took it to us and we had a hard time responding.”
Starkville held Columbus to five points in the third quarter and then blew it open in the fourth quarter. Held to two points through three quarters, Rice hit back-to-back 3-point baskets in the first 40 seconds of the final period to push the lead to 15.
“This was a really big win,” Starkville senior Dontavius Self said. “When we play together as a team, we are pretty good. We are playing with more confidence because any players can pick up the scoring load. Tonight, you saw the complete package. But it starts on the defensive end. That is how we get the lead. We know it all starts there for us.”
Self scored 16 points, while Smith added 10 points. Tyson Carter and Rice each added nine points.
JaVontae McDavid had 11 for Columbus, while Scott added 10 points.
Follow Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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