Harrison Central closes out HoopsFest win behind a big night from Carlous Williams

After Harrison Central kept Clinton within close range for much of their contest during Saturday’s Hoopfest, the Red Rebels closed out the contest behind a big night from junior forward Carlous Williams to secure a 64-62 win over the Arrows.

Damarius Coleman sank a three-pointer for the Red Rebels to tie the game at 57-57 with just over two minutes remaining, and the Red Rebels sank seven of ten free throws the rest of the way, holding the Arrows to three free throws and a basket.

The Red Rebels trailed 46-44 going into the fourth quarter, and they didn’t take the lead until 1:51 remained on the game clock as Williams sank two free throws to give them a 59-57 lead at the Coast Coliseum.

“Before we give credit to Damarius Coleman for scoring the three pointer, we’ve got to give credit to Noe Tchouamo for taking the charge on the other end,” Red Rebels coach Boo Hardy said. “He drew the charge that caused us to get the ball, and then we came down and got the three.

“We missed a few free throws toward the end, but those free throws by Williams were real big for us.”

The Red Rebels trailed by six points (19-13) at the end of the first quarter, but Williams led a second quarter rally, scoring 14 of his 20 points in the quarter. Their defense tightened, holding the Arrows to only 11 points in the period.

Williams led the Red Rebels with 29 points and Cameron Haynes added 11 points. Jaylon Davis led Clinton with 12 points, followed by Allen Hughes with 10 points.

Harrison Central improves to 19-4 on the season. Clinton falls to 19-6.

Oak Grove 61, Biloxi 43

Oak Grove dominated Biloxi in the final game of Hoopfest on Saturday as the Warriors finished the first quarter with a four point lead, and they extended their lead in each quarter on their way to a 61-43 win.

The Warriors’ offense posed problems for the Indians around the basket as Cornelius Williams and Jay Barnes were tough to stop in the paint.

Williams led the Warriors with 27 points and Barned added 18.

“It was a great win for our program to come down here in an event like this,” Oak Grove coach LaRon Brumfield said.

“Our inside play was really good tonight. We knew (Caleb) McCarty is a really good post player, but we just kept being physical and fighting as hard as we can, and we stopped letting him get the position that he wanted.”

Oak Grove outscored Biloxi by four points in each of the first three periods and six points in the fourth quarter.

“It lets you know where you’re at,” Biloxi coach Seber Windham said. “They’re the No. 2 team in the state; they’ve got really good talent, and they’ve been together a long time, and they’re well coached. I’ve got a lot of young guys on this basketball team.

“So, it let’s you know where you’re at this time of the season. And we really needed to see exactly where we’re at this time of the year, getting ready to go into the playoffs. You need to know what the playoffs are going to be like. You can run into an Oak Grove, a Meridian, or Brandon or somebody with a high level team, and you’ve got to play high level basketball. We didn’t execute it for four quarters tonight.”

Biloxi’s record is 17-3. Oak Grove improves to 17-2.

Other HoopsFest scores: Gulfport 52, Pascagoula 32; St. Martin 36, Picayune 22; St. Stanislaus 60, Long Beach 54; Bay High 55, D’Iberville 34; Ocean Springs 56, Pass Christian 52.