The McComb Tigers finished what had seemed inevitable for weeks when they defeated the South Pike Eagles Friday night in Magnolia to complete a perfect 10-0 record in Region 7-4A play.
The Tigers led the Eagles by 30 points through three quarters before letting their foot off the gas on their way to a modest 16-point victory — their smallest margin of victory in region play. McComb completed the season with an overall record of 24-1, and enter next week’s Region 7-4A tournament as the No. 1 seed. The Tigers will also host the 4A South State tournament later this month.
“I thought we did a real good job of shooting the basketball, we shot the basketball well early on,” Harrell said, noting his teams usually struggle to shoot in South Pike’s gym. “We were poised in a tough environment. I was impressed with how poised we were.”
It took McComb just four seconds to grab a lead over South Pike, and the Tigers never looked back.
Guard Shemar Williams corralled the opening tip in enemy territory and promptly turned around to complete an uncontested dunk to put McComb up 2-0. The Tigers would lead the rest of the way.
McComb had little trouble getting inside against the Eagles’ 2-3 zone. The Tigers imposed their size and length on South Pike, leading to 76 in the game’s first three quarters.
And when the inside wasn’t open, the Tigers kicked the ball back outside and made the Eagles pay from 3-point range. As a team, McComb drained 12 3-pointers for the game, most of which came in the first three quarters.
Junior forward Emanuel Johnson had a career night, scoring a game-high 20 points including 6-of-11 shooting from 3-point land. Sophomore forward KaDarron Mason also had one of his best games of the season in the post, scoring six points on 100 percent shooting while hauling in seven rebounds.
Sophomore Antonio Cowart scored 16 points off the bench but committed a team-high five turnovers in a winning effort.
Center Stacey Mack had a quiet night on the scoreboard, contributing just three points on the night. Mack led the team with 11 rebounds.
South Pike showed no quit on its senior night, fighting back in the fourth quarter to cut a 30-point deficit to 16 points by the final buzzer.
“We never quit, and we played (McComb) better than we played them the first time,” South Pike head coach Joe Taylor said. “We can look at that as a positive that we played them better the second time.”
The Eagles honored 10 seniors at their Senior Night ceremony before the game: Doreon Hill, Ladarris Taylor, Desmond Cook, Shucori Hurst, Stephen Coleman, JaRod Green, Darreall Cook, Derrick Horton, Lance Collins and Christopher McCoy.
Horton was one of few bright spots for South Pike with a team-high 18 points. Desmond Cook contributed 13 points and Darreall Cook added 11.
South Pike enters the region tournament as the No. 4 seed and will take on No. 5 Purvis in the first round Tuesday night.
“We feel pretty good about (the playoffs),” Taylor said. “Though we lost tonight we are confident.”
McComb earned a bye through the first round as the No. 1 seed, and will face the winner of the game between South Pike and Columbia in the semifinals Friday night.
“Now it’s a whole new season,” McComb head coach Hilton Harrell said of the playoffs, which start next week. “That season is over, and the (10-0 district) record doesn’t mean anything now.”
Lady Eagles win on Senior Night
The South Pike Lady Eagles gutted out a thrilling 57-52 win on Senior Night over McComb to close out its regular-season schedule.
The two teams traded leads back and forth throughout a closely contested fourth quarter. A small McComb spurt, fueled by senior LaDiamond Crumedy, pulled the Lady Tigers to within one point at 48-47.
After South Pike extended its lead to 50-47 and regained possession with 30 seconds left, the Lady Tigers lost track of the time and situation and failed to foul and stop the clock until just five seconds remained.
South Pike senior Amber Harper knocked down two free throws to extend the lead to two possessions, putting the game out of McComb’s reach.
“We are real confident about our position in the district tournament,” South Pike assistant coach Cavadas Nunnery said after the win. “We still feel we have a real good shot to win the tournament and get a bye in the first round of the South State tournament.”
The Lady Eagles finished district play as the No. 2 seed and will get a first-round bye heading into next week’s tournament.
The Lady Tigers will be the No. 4 seed and will begin play in the first round Tuesday against Columbia at 4 p.m.
“Tuesday is win or go home,” McComb head coach Angelia Johnson said. “The only thing I’m going to say is ‘Here we come.’ ”
