STARKVILLE — The Starkville High School boys basketball team began the season as the undisputed top-ranked team.
The Yellow Jackets aren’t backing down from that position.
Starkville scored the game’s first 12 points and cruised to a 100-54 non-region win against Columbus on Tuesday night at the Bee Hive.
With the victory, Starkville improved to 3-0, while Columbus fell to 1-1.
“We take being ranked No. 1 as a major motivation,” Starkville senior Jacolby Mobley said. “It’s like we have a target on our backs. That is no added pressure for us. We take pride in it. This team has been together for so long, ever since junior high. We have so much chemistry we can play together without talking to one another on the court.”
Mobley took control from the opening tip. On Starkville’s first possession, Mobley was fouled on a 3-pointer and made all three free throws. After a steal, Mobley rammed home a monster dunk to the delight of the capacity crowd at Starkville High’s gym.
Starkville forced seven turnovers and sprinted to a 16-2 lead, and a 22-5 at the end of the first quarter.
Starkville erupted for 33 points, including seven of its 13 3-pointers, in the second quarter and led 55-13 at halftime.
“Jacolby got going real early tonight,” Starkville coach Greg Carter said. “He had seven assists at halftime. Every other trip, he was getting an assist on a 3-point basket or a dunk. When he is getting both assists and scoring, there is nobody in the state who can compete with us. He totally dominated tonight.”
The Jackets continued to shoot better than 70 percent in the final half. Columbus committed 31 turnovers. Mostly reserves took over midway through the third quarter.
Starkville led 83-37 after three quarters and hit the century mark in the final half-minute.
“We came out fast and played hard,” Starkville senior Mike Brand said. “We played under more control than we usually do. Being our first home game, you expected a big adrenaline rush. However, we didn’t let it affect us. We shot the ball very well and played well together as a team.”
Columbus mixed things up a little bit Tuesday night. The Falcons attempted to play at a faster pace than normal. While the Jackets were initially caught off guard, they were more than willing to run with their guests.
“We really weren’t expecting Columbus to come out fast,” Brand said. “They usually hold the ball and pass a lot. Running is our game. Once we got on a roll, we really couldn’t be stopped.”
For Starkville, Gavin Ware finished with a game-high 19 points and six rebounds. Mobley added 18 points, nine assists, and four steals. Brand had 16 points, while Tay Gandy had 14 points and eight rebounds.
“It felt really good to get the whole team involved,” Mobley said. “Columbus is usually one of the better defensive teams we play. But tonight we came out, played hard, and really took them out of everything they wanted to do.
“Every game we try to come out and take control of the game early. The important thing now is to put this one behind us and get ready for Thursday.”
Even though Columbus, which has only one senior on its roster, couldn’t recover from the early onslaught, Carter likes the Falcons’ chances in Class 6A, Region 1.
“I still they are the team to beat in their district,” Carter said. “Given some time, they are going to be a good team. You see they have good players, but they are young. I predicted before the season began, they would be the team to beat in their district.
“They played faster tonight, which surprised us. We expected a slower pace, but the change of pace didn’t throw us off. We like to play fast. That is what we have always done. That is why we were a little better at it.”
Starkville is also a “team to beat” in its district. However, the Yellow Jackets have their sights set on bigger goals for this season.
“The way we are playing right now is good,” Brand said. “However, we have areas to work on defensively. We also need to perfect our offense. If we can do that, we can be a perfect team.”
The Falcons received nine points from Devin Berry and seven points from C.J. Scott.
In the opener, the Columbus girls scored the first 11 points and cruised to an 86-65 victory against Starkville.
The Lady Falcons forced seven turnovers before Starkville scored. Six straight points by Maggie Proffitt ran Columbus’ advantage to 18-4. The Lady Falcons scored the first quarter’s final seven points and led 30-9 halftime.
Starkville hung tough and found an offensive rhythm. However, the Lady Jackets could get no closer than 16 points the remainder of the way.
For Columbus (2-1), Proffitt finished with 28 points, while Kiandria Patterson had 16 points. Daisha Williams added 12 points, while Kierra Erby scored 10 points.
Starkville (1-2) received 21 points from Brittany Brown.
Starkville will visit Grenada on Thursday, while Columbus will visit New Albany on Friday
n In other action, Jason Davis had 18 points and 18 rebounds Tuesday night to lead the Immanuel Christian boys basketball team to a 67-36 victory against Smithville.
A.J. Johnston had 14 points, three rebounds, and three assists, Darius Jones had 13 points, three assists, and two rebounds, Ross Moore had nine points and six rebounds, Christian Good had six points, five rebounds, and two assists, Norris Harris had two points and six rebounds, Jordan Miller had two points and four rebounds, and Josh Davidson had two points.
On Monday, Immanuel Christian defeated Old Dominion in Winona. Good had 19 points and six rebounds, Jones had 17 points, six assists, and two steals, Johnston had 11 points, five rebounds, and four assists, Moore had five points and three rebounds, and Harris had four points ad five rebounds.
n The Immanuel Christian girls beat Smithville 44-21. Bailey Edwards had 12 points, eight rebounds, 12 steals, and an assist, Kaitlyn Shreiner had nine points, three rebounds, two steals, and three assists, and Meghan Cooper had seven points, two steals, and two assists to help the team improve to 4-0.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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