Olive Branch proves it’s still the top dog in Region 1-5A with win over Center Hill
Senior forward D.J. Jeffries predicted he would score 50 points on Center Hill, while looking down at his Air Jordan Retro 14 ‘Last Shot’ sneakers. Jeffries was even wearing a black calf sleeve that Hall of Farmer Michael Jordan used…
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Continue ReadingSenior forward D.J. Jeffries predicted he would score 50 points on Center Hill, while looking down at his Air Jordan Retro 14 ‘Last Shot’ sneakers.
Jeffries was even wearing a black calf sleeve that Hall of Farmer Michael Jordan used to wear during his playing days with the Chicago Bulls. From the start, Jeffries was too much for the Mustangs to handle, and his teammates seemed to feed off his energy.
Behind a strong second half, Olive Branch (17-6) rolled past Center Hill, 99-81, to leave the Mustangs winless in this rivalry, keeping momentum on its side with the postseason in the rearview mirror. Jeffries had the game-high 39 points.
Both teams traded scores for most of the third quarter before the ‘Quistors used a quick 5-0 run to take a 65-55 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Foul trouble forced the Mustangs to go small in their frontcourt. Junior forward Decorian Payton picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter and had to sit on the bench, watching his team gradually fade away.
Olive Branch built its lead to 75-59 after Wes Taylor knocked down a 3. Point guard Josh Stephenson, then, found Jeffries cutting to the basket for the alley-oop dunk. That was one of four dunks Jeffries had in the fourth quarter as his team’s lead kept mounting and the ‘Quistors fan base kept screaming for more.
Taylor found junior forward Cameron Matthews for the alley-oop slam, and by that time, Olive Branch was up 83-65. Taylor finished with 20 points. Matthews added 13.
From that point on, the ‘Quistors simply let Center Hill (22-2) and its fan base know who runs Olive Branch, Mississippi and Region 1-5A.
“We have been in some tough games this year, and an environment like this doesn’t scare the boys,” ‘Quistors head coach Eric Rambough said. “It makes them play a little bit harder. We have had a lot of stuff go against us, playing against some good teams, good players.
“This game is not too big for us.”
After Taylor’s alley-oop pass to Matthews, Taylor knocked down another 3 on the team’s next offensive possession and one more to make it 97-79. The Mustangs’ sophomore forward Kaeden Laws fouled out late in the fourth quarter after he picked up a technical foul for rolling the basketball past one of the referees’ feet.
Calvin Temple, who once played for Olive Branch, was able to finish the game out with four fouls.
The Mustangs were rolling in the first half, thanks to senior point guard Kenneth Lewis. Lewis scored 13 points in the first quarter. After back-to-back scores from Temple, Center Hill led 28-17 and had the defending 5A state champs on the ropes. But, the Mustangs went away from Lewis, fouls started to pile up, and the offense as a whole couldn’t keep up with Olive Branch’s run-and-gun formula.
“Our team this season has been able to will our way on people, so we thought Olive Branch was probably like everyone else,” Center Hill head coach Newton Mealer said. “We just wanted to continue to will our way at them in the second quarter.
“Looking back at it, we should’ve made Olive Branch come guard us in the second quarter. Instead, we kept trying to attack their 3-2 zone, and the zone hurt us. We turned the ball over twice. We didn’t get back in transition defense, and we gave up three easy baskets.”
Temple led the Mustangs with 24 points, five assists, three rebounds, and two steals. Lewis added 22 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Kevin Henry provided 14 points, nine rebounds, three steals, and two assists.
3 takeaways
- Olive Branch should be the favorite to repeat as 5A state champs. It’s obvious this team is poised for another title run.
- D.J. Jeffries is the leader on offense, but the backcourt of Joe Cooper, Josh Stephenson, Kyron Pleas, and Wes Taylor is one tough group of guards that are willing to do everything on both ends of the floor to get the win. Stephenson finished with 11 points.
- This loss could be a reality check for Center Hill, which may need to go back to the drawing board to figure out how to win in a raucous crowd against a championship-caliber team.