Clarksdale’s Markevious Jackson made a 3-point shot to open the Mississippi Class 4A Championship Game against Raymond Thursday.
It was the only time the Wildcats led as the Raymond Rangers responded with a three-pointer of their own and never looked back as the went on to a 65-44 win over Clarksdale.
The Wildcats just never seemed to get their game on against the top-ranked team from Raymond.
Clarksdale was down only 14-11 at the end of one but the Rangers opened up the game and led 33-22 at the half.
The Rangers would extend the lead to 46-26 at the end of the third. Despite foul trouble, the Wildcats did close the gap in the fourth quarter.
Clarksdale would be led at the rim by Korea McKay with nine points, and three Wildcats, Markevious Jackson, Kyle Coleman and Henry Espy finished the game with eight-points each. Gregory Neely added five, Kelley Jones had four and Isaiah Galmore rounded out the scoring for the Wildcats.
But defense was where Clarksdale suffered.
The Wildcats grabbed 18 defensive rebounds and only seven offensive boards.
Clarksdale found the game outside tough, too. The Wildcats only made three, three-point shots on 10 attempts. Jackson got two of them and McKay one.
It was a physical game from the beginning as Clarksdale - a newcomer to the Mississippi Coliseum - knew they had to start strong against a veteran group of Rangers.
But Raymond was shooting fouls by the 2:50 mark in the first quarter and Clarksdale would not get a chance from the freethrow line until just before the first buzzer.
Three Clarksdale players would be in foul trouble as the fourth quarter started. McKay and Jones would foul-out midway in the fourth frame.
“You saw the game,” said Clarksdale Coach Farrington Hill. “I wish they had let them play a little more. That is the part of this that hurts.”
The Rangers also used their bench to keep their players fresh and all 12 of their players seeing game time in “The Big House.”
Clarksdale stuck with their starting five, with three getting more than 30-minutes and two in the game for more than 23-minutes.
Clarksdale shot a dismal .386-percent from the floor making only eight of 27 attempts. Raymond shot .469-percent, making 9 of 21 shots.
But it was freethrow that proved the difference for Raymond. The Rangers shot an impressive .652 from the charity stripe, making 13 of 20. Clarksdale had a better percentage at an even 70-percent but only made it to the line eight times and made five freethrows.
Raymond was led on the scorebook by Jabarie Robinson with 19 points and Kendric Dixon followed closely with 17. Christopher Fuqua rounded out the double-digit scoring for the Rangers with 13.
Clarksdale will lose three seniors in Jackson, McKay and Turner, but has juniors Galmore Jones and Espy returning for the Wildcats.
Sophomores Patrick Broomfield adn Clinton Metcalf will also have to step up next year as will the Wildcats’ lone freshman Latravious Johnson.
Clarksdale finished the season 25-7. Raymond stands 29-5.
