Wildcats looking for breakout win in state tournament
By RUSSELL TURNER | Herald Editor
The Greene County Wildcats entered last week’s Region 8-4A Tournament looking like a team ready for a breakthrough among the region’s top teams.
A couple of big wins late in the regular season gave the Cats a boost in confidence going into the postseason. It helped too, but not quite enough as the Wildcats came up short in tough losses to Moss Point and Bay Springs.
The tournament was still far from a bust for the Wildcats. Coach Brance Crane’s team did get the one win it needed to earn a berth into this week’s opening round of the MHSAA 4A State Tournament and should have some confidence from going toe-to-toe with the Tigers and Pirates. Now Crane hopes his battle-tested team can put a complete game together and earn a marquee win over a top tier program like the defending state champions from Raymond, who they face on Tuesday.
“We are excited about the opportunity to bring this team to a great basketball place like Raymond,” Crane said. “These guys give me maximum effort every night. There are just some really tough teams in this region.”
“I think our inexperience on how to close out big games showed in Tuesday’s loss to Pass Christian. Then it showed once again having to get back up for Moss Point and coming out slow in that loss.”
Coming off an emotional win at George County in the regular season finale, GCHS found itself in a battle on the tournament’s opening day as they went after their third win of the season over Stone County. They were able to put together an 8-point lead going into halftime, but couldn’t extend the lead in the third quarter and had to hold off a 4th period surge by the Tomcats to earn the 51-48 win.
They came out hot against top-seeded Pass Christian the following night, taking a 31-26 into the locker room after the first two periods. But, the Pirates answered in the second half, outpacing the Cats 19-9 in the third period and holding on to put GCHS on the wrong side of another 51-48 decision.
It was an opposite story in Thursday’s consolation game as Moss Point set the pace early and carried a 15-point lead into halftime. The Wildcats showed they could battle back, outscoring the Tigers 21-13 to close the gap to seven points by the end of the third period. They won the final eight minutes as well but it wasn’t enough to overcome the slow start.
There were several promising performances for GCHS. Junior Brycen ‘B.J.’ Johnson backed up his All-Region First-Team selection for the season with 17 points in the loss to Moss Point and averaged 10.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and three assists in the tournament. Freshman Jase Mathews, a First-Team All-Region honoree himself, continued his strong play too, averaging five points and six rebounds per game last week.
Senior Kayden ‘K.J.’ Miller, an Honorable Mention All-Region selection, led the Cats in the three games, matching Johnson with 17 points against Moss Point and averaging 15 points and nearly three steals per game.
Senior Ryan James averaged eight points and 3.3 rebounds per game during the tournament. His classmate, Zane Denson, didn’t get on the board against the Tigers, but still managed to post a 5-point, 4-rebound average. Freshman Braedon Spivery continued to be a workhorse, giving his team six points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals each outing.
Crane believes that despite going 1-2 in the region tournament his team grew from the experience. He also believes that if the Cats continue to play hard and catch a few breaks, that experience gives them a fighter’s chance against the Rangers. The question will be whether the Cats carry that same belief onto the court in Raymond.
“Hopefully, we can come out and give them a challenge early on and see what happens,” he said.
Gametime for the matchup is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Raymond.
