STARKVILLE — Eli Acker got up slowly.
The Heritage Academy senior big man had just tangled with Starkville Academy junior forward Jawon Yarbrough as the two went up for an offensive rebound in the middle of the fourth quarter Thursday night in Starkville.
As Acker picked up his 6-foot-6 frame from the hardwood, the Vols controlled possession, and Tanner Graves drew a foul at the other end. Acker, looking worn and exhausted, trudged to the key to get in rebounding position.
The short sequence summed up Thursday’s contest, in which Heritage Academy (18-7, 9-0 district) escaped Starkville with a hard-earned 53-42 win over its rival school. The Patriots did what they came in to accomplish, but the physicality of the game — their fifth contest in seven days — took everything they had.
“I’m a little sore,” Acker said after the win.
Starkville Academy forwards are likely even sorer after Acker muscled his way to 19 points Thursday, leading all scorers. The big man fought off nearly all comers to pull down rebound after rebound and keep possessions alive for the Patriots.
“He’s just so strong,” Heritage Academy coach Russ Whiteside said. “He’s so hard to guard down there when he gets his hands on the ball. He’s been big for us all year, and he’ll be a big part for us down the stretch if we’re gonna have the success we want to.”
Starkville Academy even tried a different defensive strategy Thursday against Acker, who has five inches on the Vols’ tallest player.
In the teams’ first meeting, a 63-37 Patriots win in Columbus on Jan. 7, Acker had 14 points and proved a willing and effective passer when drawing multiple defenders.
“We tried doubling him the first time, and he kicked it all over to wide-open shooters,” Ball said. They shoot it well. Tonight, we tried to front him and limit his touches … whenever you front, that’s really poor defensive positioning fundamental wise, and that allows him to get boards. He’s just a load.”
It wasn’t all Acker on Thursday for the Patriots, of course. Six other Patriots scored, including senior Steele Altmyer, who had 13 points.
“He’s a knockdown shooter, and it was big time to have him back,” Acker said. “Whenever you need a shot, he can go get it for you.”
For the Volunteers, Yarbrough led the way in scoring with 13 points.
“He’s playing so much bigger than he is,” Ball said. “He’s in there amongst trees, and he’s pulling boards and finishing and playing tough. Even when they contest him, he’s in there amongst the bigger guys. He’s getting off the glass. I couldn’t be more pleased with him.”
Ball said he was pleased with how his team hung with the defending MAIS overall champions, and junior guard Dre Frazier, second on the team in scoring Thursday with 12 points, echoed the sentiment.
“They’re one of the best teams in the state, so if we can play with them, we can play with anybody,” Frazier said.
Frazier and the Vols will host Starkville Christian on Saturday, while Heritage Academy has a few days off before Monday’s road contest at Tuscaloosa Academy.
And after Thursday’s physical win, the Patriots will take all the rest they can get before the final week of the regular season.
“This weekend, we’ll get our legs back under us and get ready,” Acker said.
Heritage Academy girls 45, Starkville Academy 31
STARKVILLE — The stakes were high in the Sharp-Wood matchup.
Heritage Academy freshman post player Lucy Sharp outdueled Starkville Academy counterpart Caroline Wood, helping the Patriots take down the Volunteers 45-31 on Thursday for a big rivalry win.
“She’s a fighter,” Heritage Academy coach Moe Reed said. “She works so hard down there and times her jump so well.”
Sharp dominated inside repeatedly and tied for the team lead with 15 points to give the Patriots (11-14, 4-5 district) a victory they sorely needed after being routed 67-30 by Leake Academy at home Tuesday.
“It’s like a fish being out of water for about 10 minutes and being able to find water again,” Reed said. “An overall great team win tonight. We beat a really, really good team.”
“I was pretty disappointed in my job of getting them ready to play,” Ball said.
Patriots senior Sydney Adair scored the game’s first five points and silenced the Volunteers crowd, and Ball admitted Starkville Academy (15-9, 6-3 district) never really bounced back from that.
“We spotted them five-nothing, and that just kind of set the tone,” Ball said. “I thought we missed a lot of shots inside that we’ve been making lately. We struggled to score, and it got late, and we had to foul. We just didn’t have any energy tonight for whatever reason.”
Heritage Academy, by contrast, was full of energy for a critical road contest. While Leake and Starkville Academy currently occupy the top two spots in the district standings, the Pats are still battling it out for the third spot. They sure played like it Thursday to counteract a home 60-34 loss to the Vols on Jan. 7.
“We were not on whenever we played them last,” Sharp said. “We missed shots tonight, but I just felt like we definitely moved the ball around more and got good shots.”
The Patriots had a solid shooting night overall, including from the outside; Adair hit a 3 to open the scoring, tying Sharp with 15 points, and senior Bailey Harris hit two 3s and had 11 points.
Sharp said the victory does plenty for the Patriots’ confidence before a “pretty crazy week”: After the trip to Tuscaloosa, Heritage Academy hosts Lamar on Tuesday and travels to Bayou Academy on Thursday.
With those games ahead of them, Reed and Heritage Academy are more than happy to emerge from their rival’s home gym with a win, as they did Thursday.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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