Vancleave mixes it up in overtime bout with St. Stanislaus
Vancleave and Moss Point each needed overtime to advance to the semifinals of the Region 8-4A Tournament on Tuesday.
In the girls tournament, Sania Wells scored 16 points to lead East Central past Vancleave 59-39 and into the semifinal round.
Vancleave turned up the defensive pressure in its 35-30 overtime win against St. Stanislaus, forcing the Rockachaws to miss their first eight shots in the overtime period.
“We changed up our defense in the overtime period,” said Bulldogs coach Robert Johnson, noting he switched from Vancleave’s standard man-to-man to zone defense. “We gave them a different look and forced them to adjust.”
By the time St. Stanislaus was able to adjust to the Bulldogs’ change, Vancleave held a commanding 32-25 lead with 22 seconds left in the game. Drew Burnett hit a 3-pointer for the Rockachaws and Delvin Henry notched a short jumper, but it was too late. Trevor Davis sealed the Bulldogs win with a pair of free throws with less than a second left.
Davis scored 11 points to lead Vancleave. Gage Short added nine points for the Bulldogs. Burnett finished with 10 points to lead St. Stanislaus.
The Bulldogs win over St. Stanislaus puts the Vancleave boys in the playoffs for the second straight year, both under Johnson. Last year Vancleave was 18-13, giving the Bulldogs 37 wins over last two years, making a huge improvement from the four previous seasons where Vancleave went a combined 15-96.
Johnson, who coached the last two years of those four years of Bulldog futility said the secret in the turnaround lay in the losses to teams led by former Moss Point player Devin Booker and St. Martin player Ed Simpson.
“This is the same group that lost games by 60 and 70 points when they were freshmen and sophomores,” Johnson said. “They decided they didn’t want that to happen again. They decided to get into the gym and start working harder.”
Still, for Vancleave to advance in the tournament, the Bulldogs have to find a way to beat Pass Christian, who have won their last 10 games, including a 62-42 win over Vancleave on Jan. 20. The Bulldogs won their home game against the Pirates, beating Pass Christian on Jan. 6, 47-42.
“They are the two-time defending district champion,” Johnson said. “They have an experienced team and are very athletic. It’s going to be tough.”
Moss Point-East Central
Moss Point needed two overtime periods to slip past East Central 58-50. In the second overtime, the Tigers forced four East Central turnovers to outscore the Hornets 8-0. East Central was only able to take two shots from the field – both 3-pointers – and missed both shots.
Jonathan Covan, who scored 14 of his game-high 20 points after the third quarter, hit a 3-pointer with 1:43 left to give Moss Point a 53-50 lead. With 12 seconds left, Covan converted one of two free throws to give the Tigers a 56-50 lead and seal the win.
With just under three minutes left to play, Ahmad Brown hit a lay-up to give East Central a seemingly secure 41-33 lead. Moss Point, though, responded with a six-point scoring spurt off offensive rebounds and Hornet fouls.
Anthony Kirkland started the run hitting the front end of a one-and-one, but missing the back end. Demetri Fountain grabbed the rebound, recording two points on the putback and getting the foul. He missed his free throw only to have Kirkland grab the rebound. Kirkland converted the putback, drew the foul, and converted the old-fashioned 3-point play to bring Moss Point to within two, 41-39 with 2:26 left in the game.
East Central forced a second overtime when it survived a late technical foul. Covan hit both free throws for Moss Point to give the Tigers a 50-48 lead. The Hornets, however, were able to force a turnover on the Moss Point possession and Elijah Newsome drove through the Tigers defense for the game-tying layup with three seconds left in the first overtime.
Keondre Booker was second on the Tigers’ scoring charts with 10 points. Kirkland didn’t score in the first three quarters, but finished third on Moss Point’s books with eight points, all in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Preston Walker led six East Central players with six points or more with 12 points. Reed Gable added 10 points.
East Central girls win
In the girls game, Madison Pearson was second in scoring for East Central with 10 points. Julia Clark and Cayce Fulton scored nine points each for the Hornets. Melanie Demoran led all scorers with 24 points for Vancleave.
“This is our third year in the playoffs, which is historic for us,” East Central coach Wes Brewer said. “Everyone got to play (against Vancleave), but now we have to face the toughest team in our district (in Pass Christian).”
This story was originally published February 15, 2017 at 12:01 AM with the headline "Vancleave mixes it up in overtime bout with St. Stanislaus."