By By Jared Florreich / staff writer
June 27, 2003
On a night when most basketball fans were probably most interested in the NBA Draft, State Games high school basketball got underway for its second week of action at Northwest Junior High.
The first game pitted the Northeast Jones girls against the girls of Kemper County.
Northeast Jones, behind Jessica McKenzie's game high 16 points defeated Kemper County 60-33. Lakeisha Coleman scored eight points in a losing effort for Kemper County.
Northeast head coach Vicki Rutland was pleased with the effort.
Both teams will play at Meridian Community College today. Northeast Jones will take on Southeast Lauderdale today at 9 a.m., while Kemper County will face Quitman at 10:10 a.m.
Meridian girls 62
Quitman 30
Quitman hit their first three shots of the game to take the early lead, but went cold as the Lady Wildcats took a 31-14 halftime lead.
The Lady Wildcats, coming off a 19-6 record and a silver medal in the State Games last year extended their lead in the second half, as 10 players contributed points on their way to a 62-30 victory.
Shannon Lloyd, Brittany Davidson, and Alexis Clemmons each netted 12 points for the Lady Wildcats. Mashana Bonner had a game high 14 points for the Lady Panthers.
The Lady Wildcats will face Kemper County at 4 p.m. today at Northwest Junior High. The Lady Panthers will face Kemper County at 10:10 a.m. at Meridian Community College.
Southeast Lauderdale 55
Warren Central 51
In the first boys game of the day, Southeast Lauderdale matched up with Warren Central.
Southeast, down 10-0 early, rallied and took the halftime 25-19 lead.
The second half saw Warren Central tie the game at 40 with 6:30 remaining, but four clutch free throws and a two-point basket in a two minute span by Alex Michael sealed the 55-51 victory for Southeast.
Southeast head girls basketball coach Joe Miller took over coaching duties for his son Ryan, who was at the University of West Alabama, taking a class to complete his Master's degree.
Southeast will face Neshoba Central at 1:40 and Meridian at 7:30 today at Northwest Junior High. Warren Central will take on Meridian at 1:40 and Wayne Academy at 5:10 at Meridian Community College.
Neshoba Central 46
Wayne Academy boys 39
Game two of boys action pitted Neshoba Central against Wayne Academy, in the most exciting game of the day. Neshoba Central took a 30-11 halftime lead, and was seemingly in control of the game.
Wayne Academy got back into the game, and cut the lead to two with 3:24 remaining. But the Jags' valiant comeback effort came up short, as Neshoba Central squeezed out a 46-39 victory.
Neshoba Central's Anthony Jones netted 17 points to lead all scores.
Wayne Academy assistant coach Forrest Davis was pleased with the fight the players showed.
Neshoba Central head coach Kelvin Smith said his team was lucky.
Neshoba Central will play Southeast at 1:40 at Northwest Junior High and North Forrest at 6:20 at Meridian Community College. Wayne Academy will face North Forrest at 12:30 at Northwest Junior High and Warren Central at 5:10 at Meridian Community College.
Meridian boys 70
North Forrest 29
The Wildcats dismantled North Forrest, taking a 45-12 halftime lead. There would be no valiant comeback for North Forrest, as they fell 70-29 to the Wildcats.
E.J. Hampton and Chris Leggett each contributed 14 points in the Wildcat win. Corey Breland had eight points in a losing effort for North Forrest.
The Wildcats will face Warren Central at 1:40 at Meridian Community College and Southeast Lauderdale at 7:30 at Northwest Junior High. North Forrest will take on Wayne Academy at 12:30 at Northwest Junior High and Neshoba Central at 6:20 at Meridian Community College.