5A Playoffs: Hattiesburg one win from Jackson after 55-37 win over West Harrison
HATTIESBURG – After losing the heart of a Class 5A Final Four team from last season, Hattiesburg boys coach Ernie Watson believed he had a rebuild on his hands.
But after an up-and-down campaign, Watson’s Tigers are just one win away from a second consecutive trip to Jackson as they demolished West Harrison 55-37 in a second-round playoff clash Saturday night at Watkins Gymnasium.
Hattiesburg (15-12) will host Florence next Saturday in the 5A quarterfinal round. West Harrison, the No. 3 seed from Region 8-5A, finished 6-18.
MORE: Check out the MHSAA 5A Boys State Tournament bracket
“We’ve got some sophomores and juniors out there, some kids who didn’t play much when we went to the Final Four last year,” said Hattiesburg coach Ernie Watson.
“We’re just trying to develop them at the right time of year. Hopefully, they’ll grow up and stop being sophomores and start being juniors; and juniors start playing like seniors.”
The two teams briefly traded the lead before junior Jamar Walker got a layup in the lane, drew a foul and converted the foul shot for a three-point play for an 8-7 lead that the Tigers would never relinquish.
“I was telling everybody, ‘This could be our last game. You’ve got to want it more than the person in front of you,’” said Walker, who finished with 10 points, six in the first period.
“I think that picked everybody up as a team, both offensively and defensively, and we communicated better.”
The story of the game, though, was Hattiesburg’s defense that forced the Hurricanes into as many turnovers, seven, as they had shot attempts in the first quarter, which ended with the Tigers on top 11-7.
West Harrison rallied in the early part of the second quarter, outscoring Hattiesburg 8-4, and the Hurricanes tied it up 15-15 when senior Isaiah Price got out on a fast break for a layup with 3:30 to play in the first half.
But that was when the Tigers hit the first of two separate stretches of frameable basketball.
Sophomore Christian Moody connected for a 3-point shot, then the Tigers forced five turnovers and a one-and-done on a 3-point attempt, closing the first half on a 7-0 run that was decisive.
“We shot the ball so poorly in the first half, that at halftime, we made the adjustment to play tough defense,” said Watson. “Don’t let the ball go inside; make everything they have to do come from outside.”
From a statistics standpoint, West Harrison should have had a great second half, as the Hurricanes shot 71.4 percent from the field in the final two quarters, but they only got 14 shots in the entire second half and committed 24 turnovers for the game.
“Coach is always talking about doing a pump-fake, to draw a foul and get to the free throw line,” said sophomore Logan Burns. “That’s the most important part of the game.”
Much of the Hurricanes’ offensive success came after the Tigers hit an even higher level late in the third quarter, getting their offense in fine tune.
“At halftime, we talked about how we have to do more, to follow the game plan,” said Walker. “The second half, we did that, and defense won the game for us.”
Hattiesburg was 8 of 16 from the field in the third quarter – 3 of 6 from 3-point range – and outscored the Hurricanes 20-6 over the period.
That’s what we wanted to start the game doing,” said Watson. “Eventually, it finally kicked in.
“You know, playing on a Saturday is different from a normal weekday game, where you have school then you come play. Saturday, they kind of lay around all day, so they started off sluggish. Halftime, gave a little jolt to them and it worked out.”
Junior Labrandon Graham swished a 3-pointer, and a West Harrison miss allowed the Tigers to get out on the break, with Burns converting on a drive down the lane.
A steal resulted in Moody in rhythm for a 3-ball from the left side, and Burns brought the house down with trey from the left wing at the buzzer, giving Hattiesburg a 42-21 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
“I only shoot that shot once in a while,” said Burns. “Some people don’t think I can shoot the ball real well, so sometimes I like to show them.”
West Harrison made 7 of 9 field goals in the fourth quarter, but was unable to dent the lead, as the Tigers converted enough baskets to stay comfortably ahead and were 5 of 6 from the foul line in the final period.
Burns had 12 points to lead Hattiesburg’s balanced scoring, as three other players had at least seven points. Javon McCalebb led West Harrison with 10 points.
Florence will come to Watkins Gym with a 26-2 record after defeating East Central 55-43 Saturday night. The Eagles have been a power in Class 4A for the past several seasons under former Southern Miss star Darrin Chancellor.
“Any time you don’t have to ride the old yellow bus, you’ve got an advantage,” said Watson. “I look forward to the challenge, as far as them being a good team. He’s new to 5A, so we’re going to try to welcome them with a loss.”
Feature photo by Randy Williams
