You better excel in at least one area when you don’t have a player taller than 6-foot-2 on your roster.
Holmes County Central High School boys basketball coach Antwayn Patrick is blessed with a squad that can do multiple this exceptionally well. Not only can the Jaguars shoot the 3-pointer from well behind the arc, but they also have the athleticism and quickness to attack the backboards with relentless abandon.
That combination proved to be too difficult for the New Hope Trojans to handle Saturday night.
LaMondre Brown hit five 3-pointers as part of a game-high 25-point effort to Holmes County Central to a 64-59 victory against New Hope in the second round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A State tournament.
“We have three or four guys who can shoot it from deep, and that kept us in the game a lot in the first half,” Patrick said. “I give all of the honor to God because if it wasn’t for Him we wouldn’t be here. When they were getting layups, we were matching them with threes. That is how we were able to stay in the game.”
With the victory, Holmes County Central (23-9) advances to play reigning Class 5A champion Laurel, a 78-59 winner against West Harrison, at noon Friday in Jackson.
The loss ends New Hope’s season at 21-10.
“In the first half because we were stretched out so much having to contain them shooting the basketball out there, they got to the offensive glass a little bit more,” New Hope High coach Drew McBrayer said. “In the second half, I thought we did a better job on the offensive glass but maybe not contained out the shooters so much. It was a difficult matchup. We knew it was going to be if we couldn’t get some shots to go down, and we really struggled shooting the ball tonight.”
The game was tied four times in the fourth quarter before Walter March converted a conventional three-point play with 1 minutes, 28 seconds remaining to give Holmes County Central the lead for good, 59-56.
New Hope couldn’t answer despite having multiple good looks at the basket. Terryonte Thomas (10 points) missed a shot, grabbed the offensive rebound, and missed another shot. On the ensuing possession, Kyree Fields missed a runner and JaQuante Bell (team-high 14 points) grabbed the rebound. Tyler Stevenson missed a 3-pointer, but Thomas rebounded the miss and gave Stevenson another chance at a 3-pointer, but he missed.
“We have been shooting the ball really well,” McBrayer said. “We really, really struggled tonight. It wasn’t necessarily from the 3-point line, but we missed a lot of easy ones from six to eight feet in that normally god. I don’t know. We just struggled.”
March hit 1 of 2 free throws, Boyd hit two, and Brown added another in the final 32.9 seconds to help the Jaguars earn the road victory.
The game marked the end of the career for New Hope seniors Thomas, Shinn, Bell, a transfer from West Lowndes High, Mousa Diabigate, and Zerius Smith.
McBrayer said Thomas and Shinn played key roles since their freshman seasons and will be missed.
“They played a lot of minutes on this floor that meant a ton to us and where we have been the last couple of years,” McBrayer said. “I hate that it had to end tonight because I really wanted to see those kids with a chance.”
Patrick said running is the most important element of his team’s attack. The Jaguars weren’t able to get out and do a lot of that, but they pushed the tempo at every opportunity. He thought his team’s ability to control the tempo helped turn the tide in its advantage, especially when New Hope 7-foot center Andrew Junkin went to the bench in the fourth quarter.
Patrick also said several of his players have the ability to shoot the basketball from deep, but he acknowledged halfcourt probably was too far. Still, captain Robert Boyd said Patrick gives the players the freedom to shoot the ball, just as long as they don’t do it too often after only one pass. He felt offensive rebounding was more important to the Jaguars against the Trojans.
“We try to do that every game,” Boyd said. “Usually we are outsized, so we try to attack the paint a lot and get to the free-throw line.”
This will be Boyd’s second time going to Jackson. As a freshman, he was a part of the S.V. Marshall team that won the Class 2A State title. The school consolidated with J.J. McClain High (Class 3A) and William-Sullivan High (Class 2A). Last season, Holmes County Central lost to Center Hill in the second round of the state tournament.
Patrick said the Jaguars have had the uncanny ability get opponents into foul trouble with their ability to crash the offensive boards.
“We knew once we got them in man that the game was over,” Patrick said. “I tell my guys all of the time we are in trouble if we have to switch defenses. Once they switched defense, I knew they were in trouble. It got them out of their comfort zone. They are long, but they are not necessarily maybe quick or athletic. We are short, but we are quick and athletic. I thought that was big.”
Neither team led by more than four points in a back-and-forth first half. The Jaguars hit five 3-pointers in the first 16 minutes. When they didn’t connect, they attacked the glass despite being outsized across the board.
The Trojans used a balanced scoring approach. Junkin picked up two fouls, as did Bell, but New Hope received solid contributions from Jay Shinn and Anthony Roland (nine points) off the bench. A layup by Thomas and a score by Bell on the block helped New Hope match its biggest lead, 38-34, at halftime.
Patrick praised his team’s heart and toughness. On Saturday night, those ingredients proved to be just as special as 3-point shooting and offensive rebounding to help the Jaguars keep their season alive.
“I call my guys the misfits because I probably wouldn’t have two guys that could start for anybody else, but they continue to battle,” Patrick said. “When you have that heart and toughness, you always have a shot.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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