Solid second halfs gave the McComb Tigers wins on Saturday as well as first-place trophies in the South Pike Holiday tournament.
Ladarius White was named the MVP on the boys’ side, while Portia Craft won it on the girls’.
White and the McComb boys trailed by one at the half, but were able to play a solid four minutes to end the fourth quarter and pull out the win.
The first half was atypical of McComb, as the Tigers missed some shots and didn’t spread the ball around.
In the second half, all that changed.
Daven Gooden hit two 3-pointers in the third quarter, and Julius Brown added three of his own in the second half. Gooden finished with 12 points, while Brown had 18.
“Last night we had a lot of success with our dribble penetration,” McComb head coach Hilton Harrell said. “But (Ponchatoula) was an experienced fundamental team. In the second half we put the pressure on them to guard us.”
Gooden and Brown were part of that, and Tradarius Holloway was a big part of it.
Holloway scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to go with four blocks for the Tigers.
“They were outphysicalling us in the first half and we weren’t rebounding,” Harrell said. “Then we outphysicaled them.”
McComb 51, South Pike 44
The McComb Lady Tigers won the girls’ side of the tournament with a 51-44 victory over South Pike.
McComb trailed by one at half but came out and built an eight-point lead heading to the fourth. The Tigers held on to beat South Pike for the first time in three tries this year.
“We’ve had the steals the whole time,” McComb head coach Angelia Johnson said. “We overcame the mental part of the game in playing South Pike.”
It was McComb’s defense that put them on top on Saturday. They forced 28 turnovers and limited theirs to 15.
“That was the best defensive effort we’ve seen all year, out of anybody we’ve played,” South Pike head coach Marcus Flippin said. “We’ve been averaging 64 to 67 points a game, and they held us to 44.”
McComb’s Craft scored six points on Saturday but added 19 in Friday’s game to garner the MVP.
Shanekqua Bibbs scored 18 points and got to the line 12 times to keep South Pike in foul trouble. Patrice Washington added 12 points and seven rebounds for the Tigers.
Raven Ashley scored 11 points for South Pike, and Kentoria Harrell added 10.
South Pike 65, Alpha Christian 62
The South Pike Eagles won the third place game with a 65-62 win over Alpha Christian.
A 9-5 run with two minutes left put the Eagles up by six, and they were able to hold on from the free throw line, winning by three.
Alpha Christian led by nine in third, until DeAngelo Coleman came off the bench for South Pike and gave the Eagles a spark.
Coleman scored 11 points and helped relieve the pressure Alpha Christian’s press put on South Pike.
“When he came off the bench we picked it up,” South Pike head coach Joe Taylor said. “He was the drive to that comeback.”
Donerrick Ellzey led the Eagles with 18 points, and Devon Malone added 16 to go along with his eight rebounds, including some big ones down the stretch. Center Devontee Cook put in nine points to go with his nine boards and four blocks.
The Eagles only hit three 3-pointers but their guards got inside and found quality shots.
“We’ve been cold lately,” Taylor said. “I think it’s due to our off time. We don’t have our legs under us, and we haven’t all played together in over a week.”
Earlier Games
In Saturday’s other games, South Pike fell to Ponchatoula 74-59. Ellzey scored 23 for South Pike, while Malone added 12 points.
The South Pike girls beat Alpha Christian 69-34. Shante Clark scored 14 points and Kierra Addison scored 15.
