By By Austin Bishop / EMG regional sports director
March 3, 2004
JACKSON If Terrance Jackson and Derrick Smith need job references, West Lauderdale head boys basketball coach Duran Clark would be glad to oblige.
Smith lit it up from the outside for 18 points, while Jackson scored 14 and controlled the game from his point guard position to lead Senatobia to a convincing 67-53 win over West Lauderdale in the first round of the MHSAA Class 3A Boys Basketball Tournament at the Mississippi Coliseum on Tuesday.
When has Clark ever coached against a better guard tandem?
It didn't take the Warriors long to put their mark on the game, as Senatobia rolled out to a 19-7 advantage and led 24-12 after one quarter of play.
The Warriors led my as many as 15 points in the first half 28-13 on a bucket by Smith with 6:24 left in the second quarter before the 28-10 Knights began chipping away at the Senatobia lead.
WL cut it to 41-35 on a three-pointer by Rayshun Hopson with 34.1 seconds left in the first half. The Warriors tacked on a free throw to lead by seven at the half.
The Knights then had a chance early in the second half to whack away at the Senatobia lead, but the Warriors turned them away.
When Smith wasn't drilling long-range jumpers and Terrance Jackson wasn't making nifty passes to wide-open Warriors down low, Jonathan Jackson was hurting the Knights with blocks on the way to his 16-point outing.
Chris Seaphus led West Lauderdale with 19 points, while Daniel Huggins scored 13.
There was a scary moment with 3:34 left in the game, when West Lauderdale sophomore Tony Jones was knocked to the ground while trying to take a charge.
He banged his head on the floor and after a 10-minute delay while trainers were working on him, Jones was taken off the floor on a backboard.
Clark said the loss to Senatobia shouldn't take anything away from the strong run the Knights have had this season.
West Lauderdale won the Division 5-3A title and finished second in the Class 3A South State Tournament.
The win pushes Senatobia to 24-10 as the Warriors move into the semifinals against Holly Springs at 2:30 p.m. on Monday.