Coming from behind has been a forte for the Coahoma County High School boys basketball team during its two recent Class 2A state championships.
The Red Panthers (28-3) erased a 15-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat Okolona 66-64 in the 2016-17 state semifinals. Then they erased a 12-point halftime deficit to beat Baldwyn 60-47 in the 2016-17 championship game.
CCHS faced a similar situation when trailing by 13 with 3:29 left in the fourth quarter during Tuesday’s semifinals at the Mississippi Coliseum in a rematch with Bay Springs, the team the Red Panthers defeated in the 2017-18 state championship, but fell just short this time.
The Red Panthers had a chance to tie things up in the final seconds, but lost to Bulldogs 54-52, and their season and quest to win a third straight championship came to an end.
“That’s been our motto,” CCHS coach Derrick Moore said. “We never quit. I don’t care how much we’re down. We always believe we’re in the game. We had our chances. It just wasn’t our time. I don’t care how you twist it and turn it, it wasn’t our time. I don’t care how much we were down or what the time was. Those guys never stopped believing.
“These guys have been blessed. Those guys, our seniors, I coached them in junior high. They won two championships in junior high. I didn’t coach them their ninth grade year, but their 10th and 11th grade year, they won a championship. Four out of the six years, they won a championship and been down to Jackson three years. They have nothing to hang their head about, nothing. They’re champions, period.
“It was a great year. We’ve been down in Jackson three of the last four years. We won two championships. How many teams would love to be in that position? I have nothing to complain about. I’ve been blessed. I’m still blessed.”
The Red Panthers seniors are guard and forward Markevius Phillips, forward Jeffery Fisher, guard and forward Alshun Ross, guard Jermaine Fry, and small forward Dewayne Rucker.
Moore believes both the boys and girls teams will be competitive next year.
“We take this week off,” he said. “We take spring break week off. The next week, we start running and we start lifting weights. One thing about it, if you’re not training, somebody else will train.”
The Bulldogs (30-3) beat CCHS’s trap to get the ball past half court with 10.6 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s semifinals, but the ball handler was called for a travel. Red Panthers junior guard Bentavious Galmore applied the defensive pressure on the play.
Moore called a timeout following the turnover.
The Red Panthers got the ball into the hands of Phillips, who had 14 points, two blocks, three steals and three rebounds, on the final play. Phillips drove to the basket and his shot went in and out in the final seconds as CCHS was unable to tie the game and send it into overtime.
“That guy has been great for me ever since junior high,” said Moore about Phillips. “I have no complaints on that young man. He’s a true athlete. He’s going to be great on the next level. You best believe you will hear from Markevius Phillips later in life. He’s an athlete. He’s going to be all over the board.”
Sophomore center Jai’Sheldon Yates finished with a double-double scoring 15 points and collecting 13 rebounds. Yates was the MVP in the championship game against Bay Springs, but scored only three of his 15 points in the second half Tuesday.
While Bay Springs may have prepared for Yates, Moore believed the slow start was the difference.
CCHS led 13-8 at the end of the first quarter. However, Bay Springs closed the first half on a 12-2 run to take a 26-20 halftime lead. The Bulldogs scored the final six points of the half to break a 20-20 tie.
Phillips had just four points of his first half, but stepped up with 10 during the second half.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that could put the ball in the basket,” Moore said. “We had a slow start. Again, you could look back on a lot of different things. Bottom line, though, it just was not our time, period.”
Four Red Panthers were in double digits as Ross and Galmore scored 10 points each.
The Red Panthers found themselves in foul trouble when the comeback attempt started. They had nine team fouls, while the Bulldogs had four with 3:29 to play. Both teams ended up in the double bonus with 10 team fouls.
CCHS benefited when Bay Springs’ leading scorer Kevin Grimes, who finished with 20 points, fouled out during the run.
The Red Panthers had 12 steals, while Bay Springs had five, and the backcourt pressure played a role in the comeback. Junior guard Markevious Holmes had four steals, Phillips had three, and Galmore had two.
Ross, the only player to foul out for the Red Panthers, got the run going connecting on 1-of-2 free throws with 3:22 remaining to cut Bay Springs’ lead to 48-36.
Following a steal by Holmes, Phillips collected an offensive rebound for a layup to cut Bay Springs’ lead to 48-38.
Phillips connected on another 2-pointer as he was fouled with 2:02 remaining to cut the lead to 49-40. Moments later, he had a backcourt steal and scored to cut the lead to 49-42.
Ross connected on his second of two 3-pointers with 1:37 remaining to cut the lead to 49-45. His defensive pressure on the previous play caused Bay Springs to go out of bounds and turn the ball over.
After Bay Springs extended its lead to 52-45, Yates connected on a 2-pointer for CCHS to cut the lead to 52-47 with 1:08 on the clock. Galmore followed making 1 of 2 free throws to cut the lead to 52-48.
A double technical was called against Holmes and a Bay Springs player on a Bulldogs free throw attempt with 53.2 seconds left.
Both teams shot free throws, but Bay Springs made 1 of 2, while Galmore made both of his foul shots for CCHS to cut the lead to 54-50.
A Phillips 2-pointer cut the lead to 54-52 with 23 seconds remaining, but the Red Panthers could not complete the comeback.
BAY SPRINGS 54, COAHOMA COUNTY 52
BAY SPRINGS (30-3)
Anthony Wheaton 4-9 3-4 11, Whitlock 3-5 0-0 6, Grimes 7-12 4-7 20, Lindsey 2-3 0-2 4, Damien Wheaton 1-2 2-4 4, Moore 2-6 5-11 9.
COAHOMA COUNTY (28-3)
Galmore 3-11 3-4 10, Holmes 1-15 0-0 2, Yates 7-13 1-2 15, Phillips 6-17 2-2 14, Holly 0-5 1-4 1, Ross 3-11 2-4 10.
Red Panthers win quarterfinals
The Red Panthers won the state quarterfinals at Newton 45-36 to advance to the championship game.
Yates led the Red Panthers with 14 points in the win.
Phillips connected on a basket with 5:21 left in the third quarter to give the Red Panthers a 20-18 lead, which was their first lead since the opening quarter.
The score was tied at 36-36 with 2:45 remaining, but the Red Panthers put together nine unanswered points to seal the victory.
