Kosciusko (9-1) stretched its win streak to seven games with a two-game sweep last week.
The Whippets defeated West Lauderdale 86-58 last Tuesday.
Antonio Harmon posted a team-high 29 points, O'Corya Forrest tallied 23 points and Calvin Banks added 11 points to round out Kosciusko's double-digit scorers. Forrest was 6 of 14 on 3-point attempts, while Harmon shot 10 of 13 (77 percent) from the field. Harmon grabbed a team-leading 10 rebounds and JaQuan Hall collected eight rebounds.
The Whippets were without Terry Skinner, who nursed a sprained ankle.
“I think it’s a good win for the team,” Kosciusko coach Eleazarus Greenleaf said. “West Lauderdale, normally they’re a pretty good team and well coached. O’Corya Forrest started out hot making shots. I think our defense carried us throughout the game. Antonio Harmon was just a man among boys down there. Overall, I think it was a great game considering one of our main scorers was out due to an ankle injury. The team pulled together. A couple guys picked up the slack and we played well defensively and pushed the ball in transition.”
West Lauderdale player Keenan Peoples scored 13 points and Aaron Harper and Conner Smith each scored 10 points.
Kosciusko earned its ninth win of the year with its 59-27 victory over French Camp Academy on Friday.
The Whippets led 10-7 at the end of the first quarter and 27-14 at halftime. Kosciusko outscored French Camp Academy 18-8 and 14-5 in the third and fourth quarters, respectively.
Forrest had 19 points, three rebounds and six steals. Harmon had nine points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. Sam Rigby had five points, three rebounds and three steals, and five points,
Eshavious Mays had three rebounds and two assists and two steals. Kosciusko was without Skinner and Banks, the latter of which suffered a hamstring injury.
“It was a little sloppy in the first half on both teams missing shots, throwing the ball away, and I think we settled down a little bit in the second half,” Greenleaf said. “I think in the second half we turned up the defensive pressure and got out of transition and got some steals… I think it was a good collective effort, along with our defense, in regards to winning that ballgame.”
GIRLS
West Lauderdale beat Kosciusko (6-5) 49-41 last Tuesday before the Lady Whippets bounced back with a 70-59 road win at French Camp Academy last Friday.
Katie Mitchell scored 15 points, Ariel Fleming added 10 points and Bracie Jamison poured in eight points in last Friday’s French Camp win. Mitchell received the Kosciusko game ball in the victory.
Mitchell connected on five of her nine 3-point attempts, and Jamison went 2 of 4 from beyond the arc.
Mikhayla Vaughn had six steals and Amiyah Greer ended with three steals.
“I thought we started off pretty good," Kosciusko coach Cory Guyton said. "We shot the ball pretty well. When the season goes along and you shoot and shoot, once you see it go in you started to get a little more confident. We had our outside game and our inside game going for us. I think they were kind of upset from the loss earlier in the week, so they came out energetic and ready to play. I thought we played defense well in the first half; I thought we got a little lax in the second half and let them kind of back into the game. Overall, I thought we were efficient offensively, and is probably one of the better games we’ve shot all year.”
Against West Lauderdale, Ariel Fletcher scored nine points with three rebounds and one assist. Fleming tallied nine points, four rebounds and two steals. Fletcher received the Kosciusko game ball in the loss.
As a team, the Lady Whippets missed 27 free throws against the Lady Knights, as they went a combined 13 of 40 from the free-throw line.
“We got in foul trouble, and we kind of got them in foul trouble, too, but in the end, we couldn’t make free throws,” Guyton said. “We missed a bunch of free throws in the fourth quarter that could have tied the game or put us ahead. Free throws were a big problem in that game. I thought we competed in that game pretty well. It was a defensive struggle on both sides of the ball. Overall I’ve been pleased. We’re starting to get better and better every day. The community support has been outstanding for the whole week – at home, on the road, they’re really supporting the girls and the boys, and that gives the teams a lot of confidence going forward in the season.”
Kosciusko hosts Morton Tuesday and visits Ridgeland on Friday.
