By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
HATTIESBURG – As he gathered his team during the break between the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth, Laron Brumfield had a simple message for his Oak Grove boys basketball team.
“We just said we had to come out and fight hard,” said Brumfield. “We knew it was going to be eight minutes of tough, hard-nosed basketball. I told them, ‘do you want it?’ And they went back out and did what they had to do.”
After letting an 11-point third-quarter lead slip away, the Warriors regained their balance with a strong finish to get past Harrison Central 61-54 Saturday night in the second round of the MHSAA Class 6A playoffs at Warrior Gymnasium.
Oak Grove (25-5) advanced to the third round of the playoffs for the first time since 1988 and will travel to Brandon at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the quarterfinals. Harrison Central finished its season 15-16.
The Warriors have employed a team-first approach that has paid dividends all season. The Warriors didn’t have a big scorer Saturday, but they had a bunch of players who stepped up at various times of the game to make critical plays.
“What we’ve been emphasizing from the beginning of the year was playing as a team,” said Brumfield.
“We can be a pretty good team, and when we play team ball, moving the ball, moving ourselves, hitting the guy that’s open and not worrying about who’s scoring. When we can do that, we can have a lot of success.”
“It came down to who wanted it more,” said senior Brandon Tilley, who scored six of his 10 points in the fourth quarter, including a key offensive rebound that led to a putback lay-up. “I knew offensive rebounding would be big, and I wanted that rebound.”
After spotting Harrison Central an early 4-0 lead, Oak Grove took control using its defense to create steals and deflections, and superior quickness to draw fouls and get to the free-throw line.
The Warriors forced 22 turnovers, including 14 in the first half, and were dominant at the foul line, converting 20 of 23 free throws, including 5 of 6 in the final 24 seconds of the game to salt away the victory.
“Free throws are a big part of our game,” said Tilley. “If we make free throws, we usually win.”
By contrast, the Red Rebels only got to the line for one foul shot, a miss on a potential three-point play in the second quarter, as Oak Grove was only called for eight fouls in the game, just two in the second half
Oak Grove led most of the way in a hard-fought first half, taking a 27-23 lead into halftime.
Senior Tate Ryder opened the second half by swishing a long 3-point shot, and he had seven of his nine points in the third quarter, as the Warriors pulled out to an 11-point lead on four different occasions.
But the Red Rebels hit six of their last seven shots in the third quarter and two of their first three shots of the fourth quarter in a 12-0 run that wrested the lead away from the Warriors, 47-46.
“We started playing selfish basketball,” said Brumfield. “It was just one-on-one, instead of continuing to do what they’d been doing to get the lead.
“That’s just a bunch of kids that haven’t been in a playoff atmosphere like this and don’t understand that you’ve got to keep doing what you’ve been doing. Fortunately, we were able to get some rebounds on both ends of the floor, and our defense remained steady.”
Sophomore Jay Barnes got the lead right back for the Warriors with a 15-foot jump shot from the right wing, then both teams missed scoring opportunities before sophomore Dylan Brumfield, the coach’s son, drove the lane for a big bucket.
Brumfield later drove the baseline for a layup that gave Oak Grove a five-point margin, 56-51, with 1:00 to play.
“My dad encourages me to get better every day,” said the younger Brumfield, who scored 12 points to lead Oak Grove. “He told me to just keep on playing hard, and that’s what we did.”
Barnes added 11 points for Oak Grove. Sophomore Carlos Williams and senior Jaylen Daniels each had 16 points for Harrison Central.
Oak Grove has never made it to Jackson for the State Tournament in boys basketball, so a win Tuesday would make history. But first the Warriors must win on the road against Brandon, which defeated Gulfport Saturday night 71-63.
“If you want to get to the Big House (Mississippi Coliseum), you’ve got win anywhere,” said Brumfield. “So it doesn’t matter whether that we’re on the road.”
Prep Basketball Summary
MHSAA State Tournament
Class 6A second round
Saturday at Oak Grove
BOYS
Oak Grove 61, Harrison Central 54
HC 9 14 20 11 – 54
OG 14 13 19 15 – 61
HARRISON CENTRAL (15-16): Mikel King 4, Cameran Haynes 6, Javier Simmons 4, Jaylen Daniels 16, Carlos Williams 16, Jacobi Moore 2, Sam Murray 6. TOTALS – FG 25-55 (3FG 2-14), FT 0-1.
OAK GROVE (25-5): Jay Barnes 11, Brandon Tilley 10, Blake Roberts 7, Deon Hall 5, Tate Ryder 9, Dylan Brumfield 12, Juwan Sumner 2, Johnny Magee 2, Jeric Franklin 2. TOTALS – FG 19-50 (3FG 3-12), FT 20-23.
