Hilton Harrell is thankful for a tough non-conference slate that helped give his senior-less team a lot of on-the-job training.
None of those games, however, can truly prepare McComb for its tilt with Callaway on Tuesday afternoon in the Class 5A boys state semifinals at Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson.
Callaway’s total package is fairly self-explanatory. The Chargers have won 17 of their last 18 games and boast two Dandy Dozen players, including one of the nation’s top sophomores. And that’s not even mentioning the fact that Callaway has three state titles — two in 5A, one in 4A — in the past four years.
To call McComb an underdog would be a fair assessment. That’s what the general public said about the game against Wayne County.
Ask the War Eagles how that turned out.
“We feel confident about it. We believe in these kids and they’ve worked hard,” Harrell said. “They belong here because of their work ethic and their desire to win games.
“We’ve played a tough enough schedule to be prepared for this.”
McComb (22-9) clinched a spot in Tuesday’s game with a 57-53 win over Wayne County, the No. 1-ranked team in the state, on Feb. 22 in the 5A South State tournament.
The Tigers didn’t seem too fazed as the role of spoiler then, but now that they’ve proved what they are capable of, some players think a little respect is well overdue.
“It doesn’t scare us at all. (Callaway) is just a regular team,” said junior forward Shemar Williams. “If we play our regular ball, we know we can beat them.”
McComb’s regular ball all year revolved around its defense. In 31 games, the Tigers have held opponents to less than 60 points in 29 of those contests — Pascagoula scored 64 in a win over McComb in the 5A South State championship game and South Pike netted 67 points in a loss all the way back in November.
The road to Harrell’s first state title in 20 years as coach at McComb will be arguably the toughest game of the season, despite a non-conference schedule against the likes of Madison-Central and Murrah, both of which are among the final four teams in 6A.
“We have the focus we had when we were about to play,” Wayne County,” said junior guard Antonio Johnson, who leads McComb with 14.4 points per game. “We just got to go out, play our game, play hard defense and we should come out with a win.”
The Tigers will be faced with the tall task of defending Callaway’s Malik Newman, who is regarded as one of the top 5 players nationally in the 2015 recruiting class.
Newman, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard, leads Callaway (25-7) with 23.4 points per game and has scored at least 21 points in eight straight games.
“I don’t think you stop him. We’ll try to contain him and stop the rest of them,” Harrell said. “When you’re a top 5 player in the nation in your class, it’s hard to stop. (He) can make shots you can’t defend.”
Meanwhile, the Tigers haven’t shot the ball incredibly well of late, especially from beyond the arc. In two of the past three games against Gautier and Pascagoula, the Tigers were a combined 6 of 33 (18 percent).
McComb won’t be granted many opportunities for slip-ups against Callaway, which tends to feast on early opportunities. Like McComb, once Callaway gets a lead, the Chargers rarely allow any chance of a comeback.
McComb will almost be playing a de facto road game against Callaway and its home fans in Jackson. The crowds averaged around 2,000 to 3,000 for the 1A, 2A and 3A games Friday and Saturday, but Tuesday’s 5A action should garner many more fans.
The difference is Callaway has been there before; while McComb’s group of juniors, sophomores and freshmen haven’t.
“I’ve had some teams go there and then they get shell-shocked,” said Harrell, who is coaching in Jackson for the fifth time in his career. “The whole key is not getting shell-shocked in that environment. It’s hard to prepare and I worry about that with a young group.”
The difference with Harrell’s current group and previous teams might be the cohesiveness, which should prevent the Tigers from succumbing to the Big House environment.
“We try to spend a lot of time with each other and learn each other’s strong points and weak points ... Our togetherness is what’s gotten us this far,” said junior forward Stacey Mack. “We’re not going to get overwhelmed just by some big Coliseum.”
Mack will be a key cog down low as one of the few Tigers who can slow down Dandy Dozen selection Tre’Shawn Bolden, a 6-foot-8 forward, who averages 8.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.
Bolden is one of a few big men for Callaway that can pose trouble for McComb, which has just one player taller than 6-foot-5 on the roster. Mack has played well against size this season, having limited Wingfield’s Oliver Black, a 6-foot-8 post player, in three meetings this season.
“We haven’t played anybody that big and physical inside,” Harrell said. “We’ve played some height this year … but (Callaway) is pretty big inside and the speed they play with.”
