Even the mighty Titanic developed a major leak.
So when the McComb Tigers ran into early foul trouble, head coach Hilton Harrell knew he had a way to keep his ship from sinking.
Three days after recording his 350th win as McComb head basketball coach on Saturday, Harrell reached another milestone Tuesday night in the Tigers’ 70-57 victory over the Brookhaven Panthers in the Tiger Pit.
The victory gave the McComb boys their 10th consecutive season with at least 20 wins under Harrell.
The veteran coach reached the plateau with forwards LaDarius White and TraDarrius Holloway on the bench for most of the game with foul trouble.
With his top two scorers and rebounders out of the game, Harrell looked elsewhere for help and found it from wing guard Latorrius Ferguson and point guard Gredarrius Erving.
The two keyed a 23-6 fourth-quarter run that helped the Tigers (20-2 overall, 5-0 in Region 5-5A) overcome a 51-47 lead en route to the win in their final regular-season home game.
The Tigers will not play on their home court again until they host the district tournament beginning Feb. 4.
While neither Ferguson nor Erving sank a basket in the fourth quarter, both played solid defense and combined to go 6-for-7 from the free-throw line in the final period.
“I’m surprised with our kids,” Harrell said. “With our two leading scorers and rebounders on the bench for three quarters, our bench played big.
“In past years, when we had leaks in the boat, we had no depth on the bench,” Harrell added. “Now we’ve got the glue and the patches.”
Guard Ross Hill’s driving layup off the right wing gave the visiting Panthers a 51-47 lead with 6:27 to play.
Erving got the rally started with a steal that led to a Holloway baseline tip-in to tie the game at 51.
Another Erving steal moments later was finished by White’s eventual offensive rebound and putback to push the Tigers ahead 53-51.
White then added a three-pointer from the top of the key to make it 56-51.
The lead reached double digits when Ferguson, who was fouled shooting a three from the right corner, sank all three subsequent free throws to make it 62-52 with 1:45 remaining.
Since returning to the lineup last Friday when he scored 26 points at Brookhaven, Ferguson has proven to be a perimeter threat for McComb. The wing guard hit for 26 points against the Panthers in his season debut.
On Tuesday night, Ferguson got the Tigers off to a strong start with a pair of three-pointers in the first quarter and another in the second period. McComb led 37-32 at halftime.
“(Ferguson) has really opened it up for people like Gredarrius and White,” Harrell said. “Now you can’t leave him alone and say you’re going over to help. If you do, he’s the trifecta.”
Brookhaven, however, opened the third period on a 10-2 run to grab a 42-39 lead.
After a Daven Gooden free throw cut the margin to 42-40, Ferguson’s pass down low found post player Rodric Bland, who hit the floater while being fouled. Bland added the free throw to complete the three-point play and put McComb back in front 43-42 with 3:45 left in the third.
The teams forged a tie at 47 through third period, before Brookhaven took its four-point lead early in the fourth quarter.
Following the victory, Harrell said this win and his team’s success are not about him.
“God placed me in this community for a reason,” he said. “This is about a supreme being in control and it’s up to us to follow His word.”
