By By Marty Stamper and Jeff Byrd/The Meridian Star
Nov. 29, 2001
DECATUR West Lauderdale jumped out to a 14-point lead in the first quarter, then held off a strong comeback by Philadelphia to take a 49-48 victory in quarterfinal action Wednesday in the East Central Community College Central Mississippi Classic.
Boo Ramsey buried three 3-pointers in the first three minutes and 40 seconds as the Knights pulled out to an 11-2 lead. West led by as much as 18-4 before the Tornadoes got the last two baskets of the first quarter.
West took a 24-17 lead into halftime and had a 36-26 advantage to start the fourth quarter.
A steal and layup by Mandrako Jackson cut the Knights' lead to 38-34 and the battle was on.
The Tornadoes got to within 43-42 on a layup by Tellas Burnside with just under a minute remaining, but Ramsey and Karlos Lewis both made a pair of free throws over the next 20 seconds to put the Knights up 47-42.
A 3-pointer from Bobby Goodin made it 47-45 with 22 seconds to go, but a driving layup from Calvin Moore effectively sealed the win as the Tornadoes hit a 3-pointer as time ran out to cut the deficit to one.
The two will meet in a pair of Division 5-3A games along with the Neshoba Central Invitational.
Ramsey finished with a game-high 27 points.
West, 7-1, also got nine points from Moore and seven from Lewis.
Philadelphia, 4-2, got 13 points from Goodin, who hit three 3-pointers, 12 from Jackson, nine from Burnside, and seven from Richard Garrett.
West faces Forest, 7-0, in semifinal action Friday at 8:30 p.m., while Philadelphia was eliminated with the loss.
Neshoba Central 82
Newton 64
While it wasn't nearly as severe as the 108-33 thrashing the Rockets put on a limited Newton roster earlier this month, Neshoba improved to 5-2 with the 18-point win.
The Rockets advance to Friday's 5:30 p.m. semifinal date with unbeaten Newton County, 4-0.
Neshoba led 20-16 after one quarter and took a 37-33 edge into halftime. The Rockets were up 53-45 to start the fourth quarter, then outscored Newton 29-19 over the final eight minutes.
Neshoba got a solid one-two scoring punch from 6-foot-5 junior Calvin Parker and 6-foot-2 senior Tawon Walker. Parker scored 28 points, while Walker tossed in 24. Tavares Walker added 12, Desmond Jones had seven, and Chris Davis scored six.
Newton, 1-2, got 20 points from 6-foot-3 senior Bobby Lindsey, 12 from Laderrian Blaylock, nine each from Cornelius Caraway and David Edwards, and six from Zack Logan.
Forest 55
Morton 50
Forest sophomore Charles Rhodes tossed in a game-high 22 points to lead the Bearcats past the Panthers in the battle of Scott County unbeatens. Rhodes was 9-of-10 at the free-throw line. Forest returns to action Friday at 8:30 p.m. against West Lauderdale, 7-1. Morton was eliminated with the loss.
Newton County 46
South Leake 43
Newton County survived a pesky South Leake club 46-43 here at the East Central Mississippi Classic at ECCC on Wednesday night.
The Cougars' Tony Smith hit the back end of a two-shot foul with eight seconds left to put Newton County up three. South Leake got off a potential tying shot but came up short.
The win moves Newton County to 4-0 on the season. They will advance to Friday's semifinal round.
South Leake led 16-10 after the first quarter. The Cougars rallied in the second when the 6-foot-8 Smith scored 11 of his game high 16 points in the period.
The charge put Newton County up 25-24 at the half.
They increased the lead to 40-36 after three quarters.
Al Willis had 11 points for Newton County. Jerry Luckett scored 15 while D'Anthony Ealy added 10 for South Leake.