Leake County used an 18-point fourth quarter to grab a 69-50 boys basketball win over Kosciusko on Tuesday.
After scoring 30 points through the first two quarters, the Whippet offense stalled in the third and managed just nine points, while the Gators rattled off 19.
“Leake County is one of the top teams in the state in 1A,” Kosciusko coach Eleazarus Greenleaf said. “They’re very well-coached. We didn’t play our game. Not taking anything from them, but we didn’t get out and run like we normally do and get out in transition and get easy buckets… We just have to get back to doing the things we were doing at the beginning of the season and staying focused.”
Antonio Harmon scored 14 points with six rebounds. Terry Skinner finished with eight points and five rebounds, and O’Corya Forrest tallied nine
points and two rebounds.
The Whippets bounced back with a tightly contested 59-55 win against Leflore County on Thursday.
Kosciusko (11-3) and Leflore County ended the third quarter with the score tied at 42, but the Whippets used a late run to take a 56-53 lead with 1:11 left in the fourth quarter to overcome a double-digit deficit and secure the win.
“I’m very proud of my guys for this win,” Greenleaf said. “We were down 10 in the fourth quarter and we battled back. We kept playing defense. We kind of lost our composure early in the game, but we got it back at the end of the fourth quarter… We went up three points and we never looked back. These guys played really well as a team. My hats go off to the guys. They showed a lot of character and a lot of composure.”
Kosciusko travels to Columbus Saturday to play Minor (Alabama) in the Joe Horne Classic.
GIRLS
Kosciusko saw a five-point first quarter lead evaporate as Leake County outscored the Lady Whippets in the last three quarters to cruise to a 57-48 win on Tuesday.
Three Lady Gators ended with double-digit scoring efforts, and Otashae Burrage led the way with a game-high 25 points.
Kosciusko (8-7) freshman Amiyah Greer scored a team-best 15 points, but the Lady Whippets’ next leading scorer was Katie Mitchell, who ended with six points. Greer also pulled in eight rebounds and had three steals. Mikhayla Vaughn had five assists and three steals.
We started out pretty strong, and then towards the end, we made a lot of offensive mistakes,” Kosciusko coach Cory Guyton said. “After those offensive mistakes, we missed a lot of free throws. We were 7 of 17 from the free-throw line, which is something we have to improve upon — our free-throw shooting and our communication.”
Playing in their last contest before the extended holiday break, the Lady Whippets earned a 54-26 victory over Leflore County Thursday night.
Kosciusko led 13-9 after the first quarter and 36-17 at intermission. The Lady Whippets scored 14 points in the third quarter and four points in the final frame.
“I thought they played a really good game,” Guyton said. “We started off a little slow, but I thought they pulled it together and got it going. We got a lot of help from our bench, so that was a good thing.”
Greer finished with nine points, five rebounds and four steals. Ariel Fleming tallied eight points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal. Ariel Fletcher posted eight points, one assist and two steals.
The Lady Whippets return to action on Jan. 4 at home against Louisville.
