Sunflower County basketball teams are striving to find a rhythm and pace in their COVID-19 interrupted seasons.
In Drew, the North Sunflower Academy Rebels and Lady Rebels are working on their chemistry as well.
With new players transferring in and new coaches with new systems it can look like an Einsteinian task.
Last weekend both teams traveled south to take on Discovery Christian School with the Lady Rebels varsity picking up a 43-25 win (there was no JV girls’ game).
The JV boys picked up a 27-17 win but the varsity boys lost, 55-42.
Lady Rebel Head Coach Jenny McCullough got a chance to get all of her players in the game against Discovery.
The team picked up some travel experience as well.
“I got to play all of my kids and I thought we played probably as good of defense as we’ve played all year,” Coach McCullough said. “We kept pressure on them. We did a good job of distributing the ball. And I felt good as this was as far of a road trip we’ve ever been on. To go down there to a different environment, I like that. I think it helps them with their mental toughness. They get stronger and better when they have to adjust to that. I thought we played well.”
The JV boys played well at Discovery but the varsity is still “a work in progress” on the court. On the stat sheet, D.D. Williams had 13 points and 22 rebounds while Bryce Redwine added eight points and 10 rebounds. Head Coach George Roberson explained the team was actually down early.
“It was eight to three after one and we were down 11-9 at halftime,” Coach Roberson said. “Then we were up in the third quarter and then won 27-17. A lot of kids got to play and a lot contributed that hadn’t contributed before. A lot of them started putting up shots. The junior high is getting better day by day.”
The varsity Rebels lost 55-42 to Discovery and were led by Jacob Henley’s 10 points and 10 rebounds in his first game of the year. Corey Coleman added 13 points, five assists and seven rebounds – all defensive. Junior Washington had six points and 10 rebounds.
“We played good and we played hard,” Coach Roberson said. “We just come up short.”
In traveling to Belzoni, the Lady Rebels met up with a talented team that was already at mid-season stride. NSA lost 64-32. Coach McCullough notes her team wasn’t in top form but faced a tougher than usual opponent.
“We did not play our best game of the year but Humphreys Academy is good. They are a solid team and are well coached. They have strength, speed, athleticism and shoot the ball lights out – probably shot 75 percent. They hit I don’t know how many three’s,” she said. “I’m not taking anything away from them saying we didn’t play our best. They beat the stew out of us. We’ve got to get better. I believe Humphreys is the best team in 1A. They were good top to bottom, even when they rotated people in, they didn’t lose a lot. They played a lot of people and they are a solid team. It was real good for us to play them and if we want to compete at the championship level then we’ve got to get our skills more solid.”
Coach McCullough noted she scheduled them because those are the types of teams they’ll meet in post season play.
Looking foward, there are upcoming home games with Regents School of Oxford and Washington School.
“I told the girls that I did not do a good job of coaching that game (Washington School),” Coach McCullough said. “I’m going to be more prepared and have them more prepared. Maybe it will come out a little different this time.”
The JV boys picked up the win against Humphreys Academy, 53-21 with several Rebels picking up quality stats. Brandon Daniel had 24 points and 11 steals, D.D. Williams had 11 points and 17 rebounds, Bryce Redwine added seven points and 10 rebounds and Addison Childs had nine defensive rebounds. Overall, the Rebels had 46 rebounds – 20 offensive and 26 defensive. But one stat didn’t show up in the stat book.
“Addison Childs was marked as just two steals but he had nine deflections that led to other steals,” Coach Roberson said. “He didn’t get any points but those nine deflections caused steals that led to points. He made a big impact on the floor.”
The varsity boys lost 57-54 to Humphreys Academy. But it was the first game where Coach Roberson had his entire team available and ready to play this season.
“We did a little better. We were down at halftime 27-17, then 41-31 at the end of the third and then the final was 57-54. We had a chance to win it at the end but we couldn’t take advantage of a few of their miscues. We missed some free throws down the stretch and that hurt us but we’re finally coming together as a team.”
Leading scorer for the Rebels was Jacob Henley with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Washington added 14 points and 11 rebounds while Corey Coleman had eight points and five assists. Hunter Head had six points and 12 rebounds – six offensive and six defensive.
“Defensively, we’re getting better, we’re just not quite there yet,” he said. “They are not where I want them to be because we haven’t had a full team together until recently. But I think with the whole group back together it’s going to be a different story once they get used to playing together and once I get used to them playing together. They aren’t hitting on all cylinders because they haven’t all played together. You’ve got four or five who have but not with the other four or five who have played together elsewhere.”
The Regents game will start at 3:00 p.m. Friday and the Washington School games start at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.
