Elton Hayes
sportsed@starherald.net
Kosciusko boys basketball team played in two games last week as it forged ahead in its Region 4-4A title hunt with The Whippets hosted Choctaw County Tuesday and traveled to region opponent New Hope Friday.
Kosciusko went 1-1 on the week, as the Whippets earned an 83-42 victory against Choctaw County and fell 56-34 at New Hope.
“The week as a whole, we played up and down,” Kosciusko coach Eleazarus Greenleaf said. “Against Choctaw County, we were more focused in that game than we were in the New Hope game. Defensively, we had a lot of breakdowns against New Hope. Against Choctaw County, we were clicking on all cylinders.”
Three days after its first region win of the season, Kosciusko (13-5, 1-1) went 48 percent from 3-point territory to defeat Choctaw County. Four Whippets tallied double-digit scoring efforts.
O'Corya Forrest, Davion Roby and Terry Skinner finished the contest with 12 points apiece. Antonio Harmon ended with 10 points. Roby was 4 of 5 on 3-point attempts, while Skinner went 4 for 7 from beyond the arc. Kosciusko also went a combined 10 of 11 on free-throw attempts.
Harmon tallied a team-high seven rebounds, while Zavier Miller paced the Whippets with eight assists and three steals.
Kosciusko ended the first quarter with a 14-6 lead and went into halftime with a 35-21 advantage. The Whippets outscored the Chargers 27-10 and 21-11 in the third and fourth quarters, respectively.
Calvin Banks suffered an ankle injury during Tuesday’s win, which forced him to miss Friday's contest. Harmon also dislocated his shoulder against New Hope. Skinner’s 19 points led the Whippets against the Trojans.
The Whippets have home games against Leake Central (9-10, 1-1) and Noxubee County (5-7, 0-3) on Tuesday and Friday, respectively, before traveling to Bay Springs Saturday to play in the Alfa Classic, where they will face Meridian (14-2, 2-0).
“The upcoming week is going to be really tough,” Greenleaf said. “Both Leake Central and Noxubee are two really tough teams. Meridian is one of the top teams in the state of Mississippi. First and foremost, we have to get back healthy. Then we have to get back to the way we play defense with intensity and pressure, and rebounding and running the floor. I think if we do those things, we’ll be pretty good this week.”
LADY WHIPPETS
For the first time since his arrival at Kosciusko, Lady Whippets head coach Cory Guyton faced off against his former team when Kosciusko hosted Choctaw County last Tuesday.
The Lady Whippets led by 14 points at halftime, but a second-half surge by the Lady Chargers positioned them for the game-ending shot that secured a 43-41 Choctaw County victory. As a team, Kosciusko (9-10, 1-1) had 35 attempts from the free-throw line, but the Lady Whippets converted just 14 points from the charity stripe.
“It was a good game; I guess you can say it was a tale of two halves,” Kosciusko coach Cory Guyton said. “We started off extremely strong in the first half, and we kind of got out of our normal routine in the second half. We had a lot of turnovers in the second half and let them creep back into the game. Once again, free throws came to bite us. Turnovers hurt us. With a young team, we have to know that we have to play four quarters in order to win the ball game. I thought they persevered, and they did a job of handling the adversity. They got the last shot, and they made it.”
Mikhayla Vaughn went 2-for-2 on 3-point attempts and added three free throws to score a team-leading nine points. Katie Mitchell pitched in with eight points, and Aaliyah Amey ended with six points to round out the other leading scorers.
Amiyah Greer pulled in team-high five rebounds, and Amey’s four steals were a team best. Greer and Mitchell each dished two assists. Amey received Kosciusko player of the game distinction for her efforts.
The Lady Whippets responded from their early week loss with a 50-45 victory in region play against New Hope (7-10, 1-1) with a 50-45 win on the road.
Katie Mitchell tallied a team-high 14 points. Ariel Fletcher posted nine points, and Ariel Flemming and Amiyah Greer ended with seven points apiece. Flemming, Kosciusko player of the game, also pulled in three rebounds to go with five assists and one steal.
Greer’s nine rebounds were team-leading, and Diamond Rayford added seven rebounds.
“We talked about the importance about it being district time, and I think they responded really well after the loss to Choctaw County,” Guyton said. “They’re really hungry, and they’re eager to learn. They want to win. My seniors want to go out on top, so I thought they fought hard throughout the whole game. They stuck together, which is a good thing.”
Guyton acknowledged and credited the support he and his team has received from the Kosciusko community, which he said helped make the environment at New Hope feel much like it has felt all year at home games.
“The entire year, the energy from the community and the fans who have been traveling has been extraordinary,” Guyton said. “They follow us, and it seemed like we had a home-court advantage at New Hope. It was outstanding. I’m so appreciative to be a part of a community that supports girls and boys basketball, and athletics as a whole. I really thought that was a difference in the game — just the energy that the fans and the community brought.”
