After watching his team’s double-digit lead shrink to 4 points early in the third quarter, South Pike head boys’ basketball coach Joe Taylor called a timeout.
“I wanted us to take some time off the clock,” Taylor said. “I didn’t want to get into a running game with Columbia, because they’re a running team.”
So the Eagles went to the air. Consecutive 3-pointers from shooting guard Dquerius Bullock and point guard Deangelo Coleman highlighted a 17-7 South Pike run to close the third period, and the Eagles held on for a 55-47 victory over Columbia in Region 7-4A action Friday night at South Pike.
The run included some nifty ball handling from the Eagles (8-6, 1-1), who easily passed the ball against Columbia’s zone defense. After the timeout, Devontee Cook hit the back end of two free throws to extend the Eagles’ lead to 24-19 with 6:14 to go in the third.
Leading by seven, Cook stole a Columbia pass on the low post and passed ahead to Coleman, who sank a jumper from the top of the key to make it 28-19. Coleman led the Eagles with 21 points. He added three rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Bullock then dropped in a 3-pointer from the right wing as part of his 16-point night. He also had six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Coleman followed with a trey from the right baseline to send the margin to 34-21. South Pike led 42-28 after three periods.
Columbia found its legs and offense in the fourth quarter. Trailing by 15, point guard Jaboris Laten hit a right baseline runner and a 3-pointer from the top of the key to narrow the margin to 48-38. After a South Pike miss, power forward Dominique Tobell drove the lane for a layup to close the gap to 48-40.
Columbia wing guard Thaven Woodsen followed with a left baseline runner to trim South Pike’s lead to 48-42.
But Coleman sent a long inbounds pass ahead to Bullock, who delivered a thunderous slam as he was fouled from behind. Bullock hit the free throw to cap the 3-point play that sent the Eagles’ advantage back to 51-42. Columbia never got within 8 points the rest of the way.
“We were more energized tonight,” said Taylor, whose Eagles dropped their district opener Tuesday night at Port Gibson. “After the game Tuesday, the guys wanted to practice, practice longer, practice more. That’s hard to get, but that’s what they wanted. It paid off.”
Coleman’s game-clinching assist was the last of several jaw-dropping plays from the Eagles’ point guard. He dropped in a gravity-defying floater in the lane for the game’s first points, then fielded a long pass from Bullock for the breakaway layup for a 6-0 lead. Coleman closed the first quarter with a launch from just beyond half-court that banked in at the buzzer to extend the Eagles’ lead to 15-1.
Columbia struggled with South Pike’s zone defense. It didn’t score its first basket until guard Torrain Lee’s runner in the lane to make it 15-3 with 6:45 before halftime.
Cook chipped in 9 points, 8 rebounds 4 steals and a block for the Eagles. It was his 60th block on the season.
