CORINTH — When someone thinks of New Hope High School boys basketball, coach Drew McBrayer knows Tyler Stevenson doesn’t come to mind.
The junior guard is overshadowed by the likes of seniors Terryonte Thomas and JaQuante Bell. Thomas, who has 10 NCAA Division I offers, gets most of the attention. Chalmette High coach Butch Stockton said Thomas was the only New Hope player he knew about prior to the teams’ game Friday in the fourth-annual Lighthouse Thanksgiving Classic at Corinth High.
But McBrayer feels like Stevenson will get more attention as the season progresses. Stevenson took one step toward that goal as he scored 15 points and had nine rebounds in New Hope’s 65-64 victory.
“He’s come a long way, and he’s the X factor for us right now,” McBrayer said. “They are keying in on these two (Thomas and Bell) and Andrew (Junkin) because that’s who’s getting the hype. But Tyler’s our X factor. He’s doing a great job.”
Stevenson was 6 of 9 from the field and had five assists and four blocked shots.
“I just want to help the team win games and do what I can,” Stevenson said. “It means a lot knowing I can help my team win games and come out with a win.”
Leading by one point with a little more than three seconds remaining, a held ball gave possession to Chalmette. McBrayer called a timeout to discuss the final seconds. He believed the Owls would try to get an easy shot for 7-foot center Mitchell Robinson, a Western Kentucky signee, but the Trojans guarded him closely. That decision left senior guard Glenshawn Amos open. Amos took the bounce pass under the rim and went up for a shot, but Stevenson blocked Amos’ shot and gained possession as his feet hit the floor. The remaining seconds ticked off to seal the win.
“I was thinking they were going to give it to the big kid, but they didn’t so I just fell back,” Stevenson said. “I knew I blocked it, but I knew I fouled him.”
Stockton said they drew up the play to go to Robinson, but Amos was the second option. He was happy to see the ball go to Amos once he realized Robinson was covered, but he felt like Amos got fouled. Amos said he felt a little contact, but knew Stevenson had knocked the ball out of his hands.
Stevenson scored three of New Hope’s final five points, all three from the free-throw line. He made two free throws with 2 minutes, 29 seconds left to stretch New Hope’s lead to 62-56. He missed the first one but made the second one with 32 seconds left to give the Trojans (4-2) a 65-63 lead.
“I took my time and took a deep breath. I just shot the ball in the same rhythm,” Stevenson said.
Thomas, who earned Most Valuable Player honors, led New Hope with 22 points, while Bell added 11 points and eight rebounds. Robinson had 24 points and 17 rebounds for the Owls (2-1). Amos added 23 points.
The 6-foot-7 Stevenson was instrumental in an 11-2 run to close the first half that gave the Trojans a 37-27 lead. He made two shots from the field as the Trojans didn’t need Thomas during the run.
“He does really good,” Thomas said of Stevenson. “He’s very versatile, so he can shoot, play the perimeter, and defend. He’s got a pretty good work ethic.”
As a sophomore, Stevenson had a limited role early in the season but played more as the season progressed. McBrayer said Stevenson’s role was to grow up and get used to the game at the varsity level. But he knew it wasn’t going to happen without hard work. Stevenson did his part by getting up every morning at 6 during the summer and hitting the weight room. Then he went to the gym and worked on ballhandling, shooting, and rebounding. He and McBrayer have seen a big difference this year.
“You could tell toward the end of the season it was coming around and then he had a great offseason, worked his tail off,” McBrayer said. “You knew by the time summer came around he was going to be a player for us this year.”
Although Stevenson is the X factor, McBrayer believes Stevenson still has to give it his all to keep up the moniker.
“He’s got to keep getting better every day, keep working hard and coming to the gym and get better every day,” McBrayer said.
n On Saturday, Stevenson had 23 points in a 73-63 victory against Kosciusko. Thomas had 20 points, while Junkin added 10.
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.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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