By DAVID MILLER
Special to The Dispatch
A 20-point game for you, a 20-point game for you … everybody gets a 20-point game.
Oprah Winfrey wasn’t in the house for Columbus High School’s boys basketball game Saturday night, but the the Falcons were rewarded for their nearly flawless play against Greenville.
Jevonte McDavid drained five 3-pointers and scored a game-high 23 points, while Robert Woodard, Jr. had 22 and Chris DeLoach scored 20 to lead the Falcons to a 74-32 win over Greenville-Weston (25-6) and a spot in the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A state tournament in Jackson.
Columbus led 29-9 at the break but scored 46 second-half points to blow the game open, particularly in the third quarter, when McDavid nailed a trio of 3-pointers, including back-to-back treys from the left wing that pushed the lead to 41-18. Columbus closed the quarter on a 10-2 run to lock up the game.
“The guys took a while to get in the flow of the game and really take the game to them,” said Luther Riley, Columbus coach. “But once we did, we played physical and executed, which, at this point in the postseason, is the one attribute you have to have more than any other.”
Columbus’ physicality was no more evident than in senior forward DeLoach, the team’s enforcer and tone-setter. Aside from cleaning the glass and playing solid post defense, DeLoach has been the team’s motor, a role he, as a defensive lineman on the football team, relishes.
But it wasn’t always that way for DeLoach, he said.
“Coach always talks in practice about not being soft, playing tough and physical,” DeLoach said. “These last few years, we were known for being soft. We tried to change that and be a little tougher this year and bang with other teams. We don’t want to be known as the soft team.
“I embrace the physicality. I love contact. But when I’m not being physical, it affects other around me. I have to stay consistent with it so we bring the same consistency. They feed off my energy.”
The Hornets surrendered the most points they had all season. Prior to Saturday night, the Hornets had held six of their previous 10 opponents under 50 points.
“It’s a difficult position, but you have to make it fun,” McDavid said of running Columbus’ run-and-gun offense. “Playing with these scorers gives you many options to do things, and also create for yourself. But the main point is to stay within what we do.
“We like to run a four-out wing in halfcourt, to make sure everyone gets a chance to score and make sure we look inside, but also continue to swing the ball around. We did a great job of that tonight.
Columbus girls 43, Greenville 34: There wasn’t a happier smile than Yvonne Hairston in the gym when the final horn of the Columbus High girls’ game vs. Greenville-Weston sounded.
In four previous tries, Hairston’s clubs lost the game to make the last eight of the state tournament – including last season.
But Saturday, even when the window looked be shut with just a one-point halftime lead, the Lady Falcons wouldn’t falter. Columbus used a 11-3 third-quarter run and built a 12-point lead in the second half before holding on to a win and a spot in the Class 6A state tournament in Jackson.
Columbus (23-5) will face St. Martin in the opening round in Jackson.
“I’ve been here eight years, and this feels so good,” Hairston said. “This is our fifth time being in this game, but the first time we’ve won, which feels like a weight has been lifted off of us.”
Zaria Jenkins scored a game-high 23 points, while Rokila Wallace had 12. Though only four players scored for the Lady Falcons, the game was won on the defensive end, where they forced more than 15 turnovers and registered seven blocks.
Hairston said she was particularly concerned with defending Greenville guard Destiny Hemphill, who entered the game averaging 19 points and four assists per game. While Hemphill finished with a team-high 15, she scored just three during Columbus’ third-quarter run. In contrast, Jenkins scored nine in the quarter.
“[Hemphill] is a D-1 player – she’ll break you down,” Hairston said. “We didn’t want to get in a running game with her. We tried to press one time, and then she got loose, but we fell back in our zone to force her to penetrate.”
Kayla Rogers scored below her season-average – just six points – but the balance of offense isn’t always reflected in the score sheet, Hairston said. If teams double Rogers, it opens up lanes for Jenkins. And when Jenkins faces doubles, Rogers gets the bulk of the points.
“Years before, we were one dimensional in either area,” Hairston said. “It’s kind of hard to double on one person when you get to this point in the season. Teams start to capitalize on things and work on weaknesses, but it’s hard for other teams because we have other scorers.
“Rogers makes Zaria a better player by taking some pressure off her, but Zaria is a versatile scorer. She’s worked on her spin-back and her floater, and we’ve all seen her progress.”
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 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.