While most championship runs usually boast a talented senior or pair of seniors helping a team get over the hurdle, the exact opposite was true for the Columbus Falcons.
Columbus had 11 seniors.
This talented and deep class provided offense, defense and leadership both on the court and in the classroom.
That is after coach Luther Riley got the full buy-in.
“The guys were hungry,” Riley said. “Normally when you come into a new school, you go to your star senior or maybe a couple of them and you feel them out. You find out if they are really ready to run through a brick wall to get this done.”
“We had the luxury of so many seniors. Each day in practice, somebody new stepped up. Somebody was ready to leave their mark.”
Columbus left its mark by winning the school’s first-ever Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A boys’ basketball state championship.
“We knew coach had won gold balls the other places he had been,” Columbus senior Christopher Deloach said. “It was like you would be crazy not to listen and not to believe.”
Senior Javonta McDavid said everyone had a partial buy-in right away. They were more than willing to accept Riley’s advice and honing of each player’s games.
As the wins mounted, the full buy-in took effect.
“When we beat Tupelo that was a really a big deal,” McDavid said. “There were one of the most talked-about teams in Class 6A. We had a stretch where we also beat Starkville during that time. Once we beat some of the really premier teams, anyone who was doubting us was totally bought in.”
After beating Hernando and Tupelo to win the Class 6A, Region 2 tournament and secure home court in the second round of the playoffs, the Falcons knew they were on to something.
“Winning the region tournament really changed everything for us,” McDavid said. “We felt like we had beaten a really good team to win that, so there was no reason that we could beat more great teams to win the gold ball.”
After opening the postseason with a home win over Greenville, Columbus took playing games in Jackson simply in stride.
At the Mississippi Coliseum, Columbus rolled over George County (81-49) and Southaven (67-42) to set up a rubber match in the season series with Starkville.
“Coach talked about starting fast,” Deloach said. “That was our goal for every game in Jackson. We wanted to start fast.
“Coach said you can get caught up in the nerves and all of that if you let another team stay around. We tried to start fast and build a lead in each game we played.”
Columbus also did that against Starkville. The Falcons had a double-digit lead early in the second quarter. In the end though, they had to rally from a deficit for the victory.
“We faced some adversity during the season,” Riley said. “We learned how to overcome it and meet our goals. That really made us ready for that moment.”
Follow Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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