‘I wanted it more.’ Biloxi senior sparks massive 4th to take down rival Gulfport.
With his team down 11 points to start the fourth quarter, it appeared that Biloxi senior Caleb McCarty was facing the final eight minutes of his high school career.
After scoring 16 of his team’s 31-point explosion in the fourth quarter, McCarty and the rest of his Biloxi teammates will roll into the Class 6A state semifinals after a 64-55 victory over Gulfport in the quarterfinals at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.
Once time ran off the clock, teammates mobbed McCarty in the middle of the court.
“I wanted it more,” McCarty said. “I have to get a ring so there’s just no other option.”
Early in the fourth, it quickly became apparent to Biloxi coach Seber Windham that his senior wasn’t ready to have his team’s season end against arch rival Gulfport.
“When he got the and-one, that’s when I seen it,” Biloxi coach Seber Windham said. “I told the guys, ‘Just get the ball to him and he’s going to take over. We’re going to ride his back.’ That’s what we did. He’s such a big time player. D1 schools would be crazy not to come down and get this kid.”
McCarty, a 6-7 center, scored a game high of 28 points to help put Biloxi in a semifinal battle against Murrah at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson. If the Indians win, they will play the winner of Starkville-Harrison Central at 7 p.m. on Saturday in the Class 6A championship at The Pavilion on the campus of Ole Miss in Oxford.
“He carried us,” Windham said. “Sometimes you’ll have a senior that says I refuse to lose and he was that senior. Even when things didn’t go well like when we’d make silly turnovers, he said, ‘Coach, don’t worry about it. I’m going to take over.’ That’s what big time players do.”
Weighing approximately 170 pounds, McCarty clearly has weight to gain, but he showed again Saturday why he seems destined to play Division 1 basketball at some point his career.
“You’re talking about taking this team with guys who played on JV last year, Gulfport is one of the best teams in the state,” Windham said. “Caleb did a whole lot to this team tonight. He carried us. He’s a Division I player. Sooner or later, someone is going to offer him. We know that, but the biggest thing is someone is going to get a great kid, not just a great player. He’s a great academic kid, comes from a great family. That’s the whole package to me.”
Point guard Keontae Beasley did a good job of running the show for the Indians, pitching in nine points as the team improved to 24-4.
“He’s playing with a sprained ankle and he came in and did a great job of facilitating,” McCarty said. “He got us in the right places.”
Senior point guard Deon Drake was Gulfport’s top performer with 15 points, but the Admirals’ season comes to a close with a record of 26-7.
“There’s no better feeling than beating your rival to get to Jackson so I’m blessed to come out on top,” McCarty said.
This story was originally published March 1, 2020 at 1:07 AM with the headline "‘I wanted it more.’ Biloxi senior sparks massive 4th to take down rival Gulfport.."
