The No. 1 McComb Tigers made quick work of an overmatched Bay High Tigers squad Tuesday night in the Tiger Den, holding the visiting Tigers scoreless for the first seven minutes of the game on their way to a convincing 65-43 victory.
With the victory McComb advances to the South State quarterfinals, where it will meet Newton County, the No. 2 seed out of Region 5. McComb will also serve as tournament hosts as the South’s No. 1 team, beginning with Thursday’s quarterfinals.
“We’re glad to have this game behind us, and now we can begin focusing on the South State tournament this weekend,” McComb head coach Hilton Harrell said.
Bay High tried to implement some unorthodox strategies to try and keep up with the bigger, stronger, faster and more talented Tigers from McComb. Those strategies included stalling to kill time off the clock, which contributed to a low-scoring first half for both teams.
For its first handful of possessions, Bay High aimed to dribble the air out of the ball in order to keep McComb from blowing past right from the opening tip. The visiting Tigers successfully killed a handful of minutes in the first quarter but eventually allowed McComb to run up an 8-0 lead, forcing the Bay High offense into attack-mode for the first time.
Attack-mode did not work much better for the visitors, who shot ice cold from the field in the first half. By the end of the first quarter McComb had mounted a 13-2 lead, and by midway through the second quarter, its lead ballooned to 21-2.
Harrell said his team began to implement a brand-new defense for the game against Bay High: a defense that combines elements of man-to-man with elements of a zone defense as well. The new-look Tigers’ defense gave Bay High fits all night as the team struggled to discern whether its opponent was in man or zone.
“We wanted to bring out something new for the playoffs,” Harrell said. The head coach noted most of his team’s South State opponents have seen the Tigers on film and adding a new defense provides a late-season wrinkle most opponents are unprepared for.
“I thought our defense was good tonight,” Harrell said. “It’s going to get better as we keep going.”
McComb led 28-9 at halftime and by 35 points, 58-23, with six minutes remaining in the game before Bay High made a late run against McComb’s reserves to cut the deficit to 22.
McComb was fueled by Shemar Williams’ 15 points, including seven of the team’s 13 points in a slow-paced first quarter.
The homestanding Tigers also used a stark size advantage to bully Bay High in the post. Mammoth 6-foot-7 center Stacey Mack scored 12 points and pulled down five rebounds despite not blocking a shot (Bay rarely ventured that deep into the post), and backup center KaDarron Mason recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 boards in a stellar performance.
“Mason has played better every game,” Harrell said of his backup center, whose role has grown since the start of Region 7 play. “He’s playing aggressive and hopefully he keeps playing better this weekend.”
McComb’s quarterfinal matchup against Newton County is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, the third quarterfinal matchup of the day at McComb High School.
