‘I love my boy.’ Harrison Central-Gulfport decided on a last-second basket.
A second half full of futility for the Gulfport basketball team turned into a raucous celebration following a 57-55 victory over Harrison Central Thursday night at Bert Jenkins Gymnasium.
After going up 44-31 at halftime, Gulfport managed just 13 points in the second half to allow Harrison Central to quickly climb their way back into the game. A pair of free throws by Harrison Central junior forward Carlous Williams tied the game at 55-55 with 1:21 left.
Gulfport mostly held onto the ball for the remaining time thanks to a couple of clutch rebounds, including one by senior forward Kobie Williams that allowed Admirals head coach Owen Miller to call a timeout with 15.7 remaining.
As it had been for Gulfport for much of the night, the ball was in the hands of senior point guard, Deon Drake, as time ran off the clock. He managed to create some space to get off a 3-point attempt, but the shot was just off the mark.
Thankfully for the Admirals, 6-5 senior forward Keijaun Johnson was able to block out Williams and senior guard Reubon Kelly swept in to get the easy rebound and the put back.
Drake, who led the Admirals was 17 points, was relieved to watch his friend come in and clean up the missed basket.
“Man, that’s my brother,” a smiling Drake said after the game. “I was so happy. I love my boy.”
The plan worked out well for the Admirals as Miller wrapped his arms around Kelly after he made the basket to end Harrison Central’s 11-game winning streak.
“We wanted to take the last shot and wanted to take it in time to get the rebound,” Miller said. “It worked out like we drew it up for once. We got a good look. Deon got a good shot there. It just didn’t fall. Reubon goes to the offensive glass and gets an easy one.”
The clock hit 0.0 and overjoyed students ran onto the floor, but Gulfport officials quickly rushed out to end the premature celebration. After a discussion among the officials, 2.5 seconds were put back on the clock. Harrison Central in-bound pass missed its target, allowing the game to come to an end.
The outcome puts Gulfport (19-4, 4-1) and Harrison Central (18-4, 4-1) in a two-way tie atop Region 8-6A, but the Red Rebels hold the edge for the top seed for the region tournament due to point differential. Harrison Central topped Gulfport 58-55 on Jan. 3, giving the Red Rebels the advantage by one point.
Drake’s play on the offensive end proved critical for Gulfport. He up 12 points in the second quarter when the Admirals outscored the Red Rebels 29-16 to build the 44-31 halftime lead.
After Gulfport managed just two points in the third quarter, he hit a 3-pointer to give the Admirals a 53-52 lead with 4:05 remaining and hit another basket to put Gulfport up 55-53 with 2:24 left.
His big game Thursday night followed a 26-point outing against Hattiesburg on Saturday and a 23-point outburst against Harrison Central back on Jan. 3.
“You don’t have to challenge Deon,” Miller said. “You wish you had a team full of him. For the four years I’ve had him, he’s never had a bad practice as far as effort or attitude. He’s the same guy and you see it out there. He’s been steady his whole career for us.”
The 6-foot-6 Williams, who was limited to 11 points, put together a solid second half and had a thunderous breakaway dunk with 3:19 left in the third quarter to hand Harrison Central a 47-46 lead.
Prior to the dunk, he managed to get untangled from a Gulfport defender under the opposing basket before racing his way up the court. He finished off the play with a slam that could be heard throughout the gym.
“He has the skills to do that at all times,” Harrison Central coach Boo Hardy said. “I wasn’t surprised when he did that.”
In the end, Gulfport limiting Williams to 11 points was a major factor in the outcome.
“We did a great job and focused on locking down Carlous,” Kelly said. “He beats us on the glass every game we play them. We had to make sure we limit him.”
Senior point guard Mikel King led Harrison Central with 14 points and 6-7 sophomore Sam Murray pitched in 12.
“I’m proud of my kids,” Hardy said. “We were down 13 at the half and we decided we had to do a better job on defense. In the third quarter, we did an excellent job on defense.”
Harrison Central will play Clinton at 6 p.m. on Saturday during HoopsFest at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. Gulfport will play Pascagoula at 4 p.m.
This story was originally published January 23, 2020 at 11:32 PM.
