The quarterfinals against New Albany on Saturday night was actually a better game, but the score of the Mississippi Class 4A semifinals in Jackson showed Clarksdale may win it all.
The Clarksdale Wildcats downed the New Albany Bulldogs on the Bulldog’s home court this past weekend by a score of 50-45 and then made the trip to The Coliseum to maul Moss Point, 59-34.
“We played better defense in New Albany (19-6), but we played a better all-around game -- offense and defense -- against Moss Point (21-12),” said Clarksdale coach Farrington Hill. “This was our guys first chance to get this deep in the season and to the Coliseum. Usually you’ve got some jitters, but our guys have stayed focused. The win over Moss Point did a lot for our confidence.”
Saturday’s game against New Albany saw both teams get off to a slow start.
It was 6-to-5 with Clarksdale leading by one at the end of the first quarter. The score had not opened up much at the half as Clarksdale led 15-12.
“We had a little difficulty getting the game going inside -- both of us did,” said Farrington. “Kelly Jones played an incredible game inside and kept them shooting the long shot. He played the entire game and I bet he got a dozen rebounds.”
New Albany coach Scotty Shettles said the Bulldogs shot poorly in the first half.
“I guess a big part of that was Clarksdale’s defense,” said Shettles. “We just never got our game going. Their big guy (Jones) shut everything down inside and they pressured our guys on the outside. Clarksdale has a good team.”
Clarksdale’s Korea McKay led the Wildcats with 18 and was followed by Isiah Galmore with 12. Jones had 8.
Clarksdale led 29-21 at the end of three and New Albany closed that to 40-44 with just under a minute to go.
But rebounding and the pass game sealed it and Clarksdale board the bus to go home and ultimately to Jackson.
The game against Moss Point was much different as Clarksdale never trailed and led 15-7 at the end of one and 26-13 at the half.
The Wildcats poured in 23-points in the third quarter to seal the deal.
“Isaiah Galmore shot the light out and finished the game with six, 3-pointers and 24 points,” said Farrington. “Jones had at least 10 rebounds that led to points and we had six turnovers.
“I was very pleased with the overall effort of the entire team,” he added. “We followed the plan and played to our strengths. They shot well and hustled on defense and that’s how you win basketball games.”
Farrington again said he is pleased with the Wildcats mental game and felt they were focused and showed a lot of discipline.
He feels the team is building on that and has peaked at the right time.
“But we still have Raymond, the Number One team in 4A to play,” said Farrington. They beat Quitman 77-44 the same night we beat New Albany and then beat Leake Central 57-48 down here on Monday.”
“They have a top-ranked guard, play a lot of backcourt ball and know what it takes to win. We’ll see how it goes.”
Tip off for the Class 4A Championship is at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson..
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