Isaiah Spencer, Madison Central win 74-72 second-round thriller over Tupelo

MADISON — It might be a different sport, but Isaiah Spencer wanted revenge on Tupelo.

“They beat us in football twice, so had to get them in basketball.”

Well, he did.

Behind the play of Spencer along with Dylan Rowe, Madison Central was able to hold off Tupelo in a 74-72 thriller in the Second Round of the MHSAA Boys Class 6A Basketball playoffs on Saturday night in the Jungle.

The Jaguars (18-13) will face Olive Branch in the Third Round of the MHSAA Class 6A playoffs at 8:30 Friday at Mississippi Valley State in Itta Bena.

MORE: Updated 2023 MHSAA Class 6A Playoffs Bracket

“We studied all week and we knew their tendencies and what they were doing," Madison Central coach Ben Gardner said. "So for us, we just had to be tough and play one play at time and do what we had to do. Tupelo is so talented, and we’re watching film and we're like 'How are we going to contain them?' I’m so proud of my guys for executing and buying in on the game plan.”

It was a back-and-forth game, but Madison Central never trailed.

The Jaguars jumped out to a 14-4 lead to begin the game and held a 20-10 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

Tupelo went on a 8-3 run to begin the second quarter to cut into the Madison Central at 23-18, but Spencer scored the Jaguars' next seven points to extend the lead to 30-22.

The Jaguars held a 34-28 advantage at halftime.

The tempo only picked up in the second half.

Tupelo went on a quick 8-4 run to cut the Madison Central lead to 39-36, and the two teams kept trading baskets until the Jaguars took a 56-51 lead into the fourth quarter.

Tupelo reeled off a quick 7-3 run to start the final period and tied the game at 59-59 on a lay-up by London Fields.

Madison Central followed with a 8-0 run on consecutive baskets from Spencer and Rowe to take an eight-point, 67-59 lead.

Tupelo cut it down to 73-72 with six seconds left after a Dayveon Anderson lay-up, but Spencer hit one of two free throws with 1.3 seconds left, and Tupelo's last-second heave fell short.

“I talked to the guys about toughness," Gardnet said. "We lost a bunch of close games to begin the year and learned from them. At the end of the year, we got tough and turned the close loses into wins, like tonight. If people don’t get on Dylan, they’re making a mistake because he’s just a sophomore and going to be a star. I can’t say enough about Isaiah — he stepped up on both ends of the floor and found ways to get stops."

Spencer had a game-high 31 points to lead Madison Central, while Rowe added 23 points for the Jaguars.

“Our coach kept telling us keep to keep on killing and that’s what we did," Spencer said. "(We) made some big buckets and made some huge free throws down the stretch. Every time they made a run, we had to make a run... We're gonna celebrate this one for a while and get ready to go up to Valley to try to get another one.”

Anderson had 21 points to lead Tupelo, while Chris Crump added 16 points for the Golden Wave (17-11). Gavin Shannon had 15 points and Fields chipped in 13 points for Tupelo.

“We knew going into it they play well with the lead and they stuck with what they do well," Tupelo coach Robert Green said. "Every time we rattled them, we would go down and miss a shot or free throw. Both teams played well and laid it out on the line in front of a great atmosphere, and each team traded key bucket after key bucket. Tough season with a tough schedule and the kids answered the challenge, but hate it to end like this.”