CORINTH — Columbus High School boys basketball coach Gary Griffin was looking for a way to gauge where his team stood.
Instead of playing Class 1A, 2A or 3A teams to ensure a 25-win season and early victories, Griffin decided to stack the schedule and tougher competition. As a first-year head coach with almost an entire new team, Griffin wanted to see how the Falcons faced adversity and responded to it.
The reigning Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 6A State champions faced a little more adversity Friday afternoon, falling to Southwind (Tenn.) 69-41 in the fourth-annual Lighthouse Thanksgiving Classic at Corinth High.
“I’m looking forward to developing our team as a whole because when you play against the top competition, it can only make you better,” Griffin said. “At the end of the day, it’s about the postseason play. I felt like with this group of kids not having been through the adversity before, they needed to play against some competition, so when it gets down to district play and down to postseason play, they’ll be prepared.”
Columbus (3-4) lost to Starkville (56-51) on Nov. 15, to Forest Hill (69-59) on Nov. 19, and Callaway (79-53) on Nov. 22. Columbus began the season with a 64-56 victory against Yazoo City, a 78-42 victory against West Lowndes, and a 58-47 victory against Southaven.
Columbus has played three road games, three neutral-site games, and one home game (West Lowndes).
Griffin said inexperience has a played a large part in the four-game losing streak.
“Free throws have hurt us down the stretch in the last couple of games,” Griffin said. “When you’ve got a young team, going on the road it’s very, very tough. This is a good stepping stone for these young guys to come out and get that experience and get that exposure as well.”
Columbus junior guard Robert Woodard II had 26 points and 10 rebounds. He was 9 of 16 from the field, 3 of 5 from 3-point range, and 5 of 8 from the free-throw line.
Griffin said Woodard, the most experienced player on the team, has had to take on a leadership role.
“I pray on it every night,” Woodard said. “I try to keep my cool in practice and things like that. During the summer, I got a little hot, but I realized that wasn’t the way to go. I have to be calm and collected because with this group of guys, you just can’t yell at them and fuss at them. You have to really just sit down and talk to them. If they see I’m calm, hopefully that will calm them down. It’s all about patience.”
Junior Denijay Harris had seven points, senior guard Devin Tate had six points, and senior forward/center Jaborris Frazier had two points for the Falcons.
Woodard said his emotions have been all over the place with the adversity he has had to face trying to get a young team ready to play. The youth showed as Southwind forced 23 turnovers, including nine by Woodard. He said the turnovers are concerning.
“We have to really get stronger at the point guard position and realize once we have the game in our hands and we have the ball that nobody can rush us,” Woodard said. “It’s basic things we have to work on like flashing to the ball when somebody’s getting trapped. It’s just a lot to go over on the offensive side to just calm everybody down and get them into a flow of the game.”
Southwind (4-1) led 27-11 after the first quarter, 47-24 at halftime, and 58-33 after the third quarter. Carlos Marshall Jr., a Tennessee-Martin signee, had 34 points, while Mark Freeman had 17. Marshall was 13 of 23 from the field and 4 of 9 from 3-point range to earn Most Valuable Player honors.
The Jaguars shot 57.1 percent (28 of 49) from the field, including 61.3 percent (19 of 31) in the first half.
“We’ve got a lot of improving to do, especially on on-the-ball defense in our man defense,” Griffin said. “With so many new faces, we’re teaching the bare fundamentals of defense in terms of jumping to the ball, help side, and making them understand that just because you’re playing man-to-man, it doesn’t mean literally to guard your man. A good man defense is a zone defense, and that’s what these guys are still learning.”
Griffin hopes things start to click for his team prior to January, when district play begins.
“I anticipate somewhere around the middle part of the season, probably the next few games,” Griffin said. “We’re just looking for the challenge every game. We’re not really afraid to play anyone, regardless of who we lost from last year’s team or what we’ve got this year.”
n On Saturday, Woodard had 20 points, 11 blocked shots, and nine rebounds, but Columbus lost to Spain Park (Ala.) 55-51.
n In other action Saturday, Austin Crowley had 25 points to lead the West Point High boys to a 68-55 victory against Newton at the Starkville Thanksgiving Classic. Alonzon Brooks and Randayius Armstrong had nine for the Green Wave.
n In girls basketball action, Tabreea Gandy had 15 points, Jariyah Covington had 14, and Kelsey Jones had 12 in Starkville’s 53-27 victory against Warren Central.
n In other action Friday, Marcus Farmer had 23 points to lead the West Lowndes boys to a 75-55 victory against Durant at the West Lowndes High tournament. C.J. Smith added 11 for the Panthers.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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