JACKSON — Starkville’s Tyler Talley didn’t want his season to end on his birthday.
Talley, who finished with 10 points, would hit three of four free throws in the final seconds, as the Yellowjackets held off Brandon 64-61 in a thriller in the semifinals of the MHSAA Boys’ Class 6A playoffs at the Mississippi Coliseum on Wednesday night.
Starkville (29-1) will face Meridian for the Class 6A state championship on Saturday night at 8 p.m. The Jackets beat Meridian 60-59 in the second game of the season back on Nov. 8.
“The first one I was a bit nervous, but after I made the first one, I had confidence and made the next one,” Talley said. “Coach has preached to us all the time that once we get to the Big House it is a different season and we were going to have to fight in this game and we did.”
Zeke Cook was a one-man wrecking crew for the Jackets, as he finished with a double-double to lead the Starkville offense which struggled, shooting 22-of-54 for the game (40 percent) and just 3 of 15 from three-point range (20 percent).
“We were tight the whole game,” said Starkville head coach Greg Carter. “We rushed shots around the basket and outside shots, and we haven’t done that all year but found a way to win. Defense carried us today. We played three guys in the post and they all did their part tonight.”
Cook finished the night with 19 points and 18 rebounds for Starkville. The Yellowjackets outrebounded Brandon 46-30, including 22 offensive boards. Atavius Jones also had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds for Starkville.
“I just had to step up because nobody else was making shots,” Cook said. “Me and Tank (Atavius) had the size advantage in the post, so we just did what we had to do.”
Brandon led 43-40 at the end of the third quarter after Tyree Cochran was fouled on a three-point attempt at the buzzer.
Midway through the fourth quarter Atavius Jones hit a lay-up to give Starkville a 51-49 lead, and the Jackets never trailed from that point on even with Brandon cutting the deficit to one at 61-60 with 11 seconds left.
“We just didn’t shoot it well tonight, so after tonight hopefully the nerves are out of them,” Carter said. “Us and Meridian know each other really well, so it’ll be a hard-fought game Saturday night.”
Tyree Cochran had 19 points to lead Brandon, while Willie Miller added 17 points and Jacquez Jackson had 12 points for 27-6 Bulldogs.
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