From Special Reports
MACON — Columbus High School boys’ basketball coach Sammy Smith was eager to see if his team could build on Saturday night’s dramatic win over county rival New Hope.
Columbus did just that as it built a 15-point halftime lead and cruised to a 60-41 win over Noxubee County Tuesday night at Colemon Gym.
“I really wanted to see if what type of carryover we would have from the New Hope game,” Smith said. “We talked about entering this game with a strong mental aspect. We jumped on them early and did some things to put them on their heels throughout the contest.”
Columbus led 34-19 at halftime.
Robert Woodard, who had a team-high 25 points in the 70-66 win at New Hope Saturday night, again led the Falcons (11-3) with 13 points. Chris Deloach and Javonta McDavid each added 11 points.
“The main thing I really was hoping against was a letdown,” Smith said. “Even though we didn’t do a great job of closing out the New Hope game, it was still a great win against a great team. It is hard to play a tough, emotional rivalry game and then play again three days later. It couldn’t be one step forward, two steps back. And it wasn’t. We really had some great intensity and that was a good sign.
“When you play on the road, you start 10 points down. So we knew was important to come out and start very strong.”
Jaqwavian Jones led Noxubee County (9-8) with 13 points.
In the opener, the Columbus girls slipped to 6-6 with a 53-45 loss.
Kayla Rogers led the Lady Falcons with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Rokila Wallace added 10 points.
Both Columbus squads play host to Madison Central in Class 6A, Region 3 play Friday night.
New Hope splits with Louisville: At Louisville, the New Hope boys bounced back from the defeat to Columbus to rout Louisville, 80-47.
“We had a really good effort tonight,” New Hope coach Drew McBrayer said. “We did well defensively. We created some easy baskets and played a whole lot of folks.
“We got some key contributions from several players off the bench so it was a good night all the way around.”
Demyis Mayberry led New Hope (12-5) with 12 points, while Terryonte Thomas added 10 points. Jaylon Bardley, Toddy Jennings and Jonte Williams each added eight points.
In the opener, the New Hope girls dropped a 39-35 decision to Louisville.
Kennedi Stephens led New Hope with 16 points and 14 rebounds.
With a one-point deficit late in the fourth quarter, the Lady Trojans turned the ball over three conseuctive possessions. A 4 of 12 showing at the free throw line in the fourth quarter also hurt the New Hope cause.
Both New Hope squads will play host to West Lowndes Friday night.
West Point splits with Saltillo: At Saltillo, the West Point basketball teams split a Class 5A, Region 2 pair with Saltillo Tuesday night.
In the nightcap, the West Point boys dropped a 56-52 decision, while the West Point girls started the night with a 43-33 win.
Dason Thomas led the West Point boys (10-6, 0-1) with 11 points.
Meanwhile, the West Point girls moved to 7-9 and 1-0 with their win. The seven wins bypass last season’s overall win total for the squad.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.