Hattiesburg wins 11th straight with 69-56 semifinal win over Laurel

HATTIESBURG – Ernie Watson’s teams at Hattiesburg have a reputation for playing their best in February, and this year is no different.

The Tigers won their 11 straight game in the semifinal round of the Region 6-5A Boys Basketball Tournament Tuesday night at Watkins Gym, taking the measure of Laurel in the first half and pulling away in the second for a 69-56 triumph.

HHS (19-7) advanced to the championship round of the tournament at 8 p.m. Friday against the winner of the late game between Wayne County and South Jones. Laurel (7-11) awaits the loser in the consolation round at 8 p.m. Thursday.

“It’s very important to win your first game in the playoffs,” said Watson, who recently won his 700 game as a high school coach in Mississippi, with stops in Meridian and Greenville before coming to Hattiesburg.

“Understanding that we played this team twice , and that it’s hard to beat a team three times in a row, we had to turn it up, and thank goodness we were playing here at home and we could make the adjustments we needed to make.”

Hattiesburg was in control most of the way, dominating the Tornadoes with stiff defense and timely shooting from 3-point range. And when they weren’t making 3-pointers, the Tigers were slashing through the lane for layups and short jump shots.

“We just drove the paint,” said Tiger junior Christian Moody, who led Hattiesburg with 18 points. “We made everybody drive to the middle and find the open man on the outside. The idea was to get to the paint, let them help, then kick the ball back out.”

Truth is, the Tigers did about anything they wanted offensively in the first quarter, hitting their first six shots from the field, including a 3-ball from senior Kelby McKeller, to forge an early 16-8 lead, and HHS led 18-12 after the first period.

Laurel started the game in decent shape, hitting 4 of 7 from the field to start the game. But the Tornadoes hit a dry spell, missing 10 of their last 11 from the floor.

The second quarter proved decisive, as Laurel made its best run of the game in the opening minutes of the period. After missing 5 of 6 shots from the field to start the quarter, the Tornadoes found the range for a brief period.

Junior Malcolm Terrell hit an eight-foot jumper, then hit a 3-pointer in transition after Hattiesburg missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity at the foul line. Sophomore Tayshun McCray capped a 7-0 run to put Laurel ahead 21-20.

The Tigers contributed to their slump with turnovers on three consecutive possessions, the last two of which could have allowed the Tornadoes to extend their lead.

Instead, Laurel went one-and-done both times, and would rue the missed opportunity, because at this critical juncture, McKeller stepped up for Hattiesburg, swishing a big trey from the left wing to put the Tigers ahead for good 23-21.

“My team is always looking for me to take the open shot and keep it going,” said McKeller, who finished with 12 points on four made 3-pointers. “It’s about keeping the momentum going with the 3s.

“The key to 3-point shooting is just staying in the shooting and staying locked in, and having people behind you who believe in you.”

The Tigers simply built from there. Steals on back-to-back possessions led to HHS senior Darrian Johnson getting a lay-up on a drive down the lane and Moody getting a pull-up jumper in the lane from 12 feet.

“When Kelby shoots it like he did tonight, we’re in good shape,” said Watson. “I told them, that (Laurel) was going to make a run, which they did, and I thought we handled that.

“I said they’d make a second-half run and we kind of nipped that in the bud by coming out and scoring like we right there at the start.”

Laurel coach Randall Pettis called for time out to regroup his team, but to no avail. On the next possession, Johnson, a rangy 6-foot-7 forward, swatted away a shot, and Moody came off the break for 3-ball from the left key.

For the game, Hattiesburg converted 24 of 44 shots from the field (54.5 percent), including 6 of 12 from behind the arc.

Senior Malik Walker put the capper on a 14-1 run with a putback lay-up for a 34-22 lead, and the Tigers took a comfortable 34-25 lead into halftime.

“This is the time you want to play well,” Watson said. “It doesn’t matter what you do the first semester, and it doesn’t even matter what you do in the rest of the regular season. It’s what you do this week.”

Hattiesburg took whatever lingering suspense was left right out of the locker room in the third quarter. Moody buried a 3-pointer from the right wing, and a steal led to a jumper in the lane from junior Stephen McCullon Jr.

More importantly, the Tigers only allowed Laurel seven shots from the field – the Tornadoes converted three of them – and forced six turnovers in the third quarter,

“We just came out with energy,” said Moody. “We were ready to shoot, ready to play basketball. Defense is all about energy and communicating. That’s all it is.”

McKeller put the cherry on top of Hattiesburg’s victory sundae with a pair of 3-point shots early in the fourth quarter to give the Tigers a 62-34 lead, and the margin would stretch to 29 points before the Tornadoes rallied in the final minutes.

Laurel was 10 of 18 from the field in the fourth quarter and outscored Hattiesburg 20-4 in the final four minutes, and it was still too little too late.

With the victory, the Tigers now know they’ll be playing next week in the Class 5A State Tournament playoffs, but a win Friday would give them a bye through the first round of play.

“We just talk about if we keep playing defense and keep practicing hard, we can go as far we want,” said McKeller.