SALTILLO — Trey Williams and Demarius Calvert can make things happen.
While Williams prefers to do his damage by lifting off from the perimeter and raining 3-pointers, Calvert is more at home on the baseline, where he patrols the area around the paint waiting for his moment to spring into action.
The exploits of Williams and Calvert complement each other on a West Point High School boys basketball team that has multiple weapons.
On Friday, Williams poured in a game-high 18 points, while Calvert scored 13 of his 15 points in the third quarter to propel West Point to a 57-49 victory against Oxford in the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A, Region 2, District 1 title game at Saltillo High.
For their accomplishments, Williams and Calvert are The Dispatch’s co-Prep Players of the Week.
“Coach (Brad Cox) told us to attack the basket so we could get fouled,” Williams said. “Once we started getting fouled and shooting free throws, we started going of a little bit with the game.
The victory helped West Point (25-5) earn the right to play host to Lake Cormorant at 7 tonight in the Class 5A North State tournament.
West Point lost by three and five points to Oxford in the regular season, but Williams said the Green Wave wanted the challenge of facing the Chargers again. He said the difference was the team’s intensity, which spiked in the third quarter when West Point was able to get into its full-court pressure and force turnovers they turned into easy baskets.
Calvert, who easily could be the team’s Energizer bunny, epitomized those qualities, especially in the third quarter. The 6-foot-3 Calvert used his athleticism to find openings on the baseline. He then uncoiled toward the basket with alarming intensity power. His leaping ability enabled him to explode to the basket and create multiple attempts at three-point plays. After the scores, Calvert turned his focus to defense and used his length to get into the passing lanes to prevent the Chargers from advancing the basketball.
Calvert credits Cox for helping him gain confidence and learning how to balance energy and poise. Saddled with foul problems in the first half, Calvert was able to spring into action in the third quarter to provide the right spark at a perfect time.
“Coach says all of the time I am an undersized big guy,” Calvert said. “He says I have to work hard, but there is more than being big to being a center. He tells me all of the time, you can always be whatever you want to be on the court. He tells me to work on my pump fakes, shot fakes, and free throws. He tells me to take my time and it will come and to play my part.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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