Smith scores 50 in Hawks’ win

It was a successful Senior Night for Holly Springs High School basketball teams.

Both the Hawks and Lady Hawks pounded Palmer Friday for Region 2-3A wins as the regular season winds down.

DaQuan Smith, on a night he was honored as the Hawks’ all-time leading scorer, poured in a season-high 50 points as Holly High dominated the Dragons 93-62.

Smith hit 10 three-point shots. He also grabbed 10 rebounds in the victory.

Anthony Johnson added 14 points, seven rebounds, seven rebounds and six steals. Cori Bell scored 13. The leading rebounder was Daveon Miller with 11.

Coach Sylvester Kilgore’s team clung to a narrow 21-16 lead after one quarter but outscored Palmer 25-9 in the second to take total control.

The Lady Hawks got 21 points and seven rebounds from Shretta Jeffries in a 65-33 rout of the Lady Dragons.

Coach Andre Jone’s squad led 12-8 after one quarter, 33-18 at halftime and 49-24 following three quarters.

Jada Dowdy was also in double-digit scoring with 15 points.

Holly High-Independence

Holly Springs teams split with Independence on the road Tuesday, Jan. 30.

Coach Kilgore said big shots from Rahmon Rutherford “preserved a huge district win” as the Hawks won 66-62.

Holly High led 21-7 after one quarter and 39-24 at halftime. But the Wildcats scratched back in the third, outscoring Holly High 22-8. It was tight down the stretch.

“We overcame an impressive third quarter by Independence,” he said. “It was a back-and-forth struggle in the fourth after a dominating first half.”

Holly High also got some key rebounds and free throws down the stretch by Miller.

“Our team must shoot a higher percentage on free throws and cut down on turnovers,” Kilgore said. “This will keep the pressure off us and put it on our opponent.

“That is a big part of championship basketball in a highly competitive district and all of Class 3A.”

Smith led the way with 23 points and four assists. Rutherford was the second leading scorer with 22. He was nine of 12 from the field, including four of five from three-point range. Bell had 13 points. Miller grabbed nine rebounds and was four of six from the free-throw line.

As a team, Holly High was just eight of 17 (47 percent) from the charity stripe.

The Lady Hawks were on the short end of a 76-20 final versus Independence.

Jeffries was the leading scorer for Holly High with six points.

Holly High-North Panola

Holly Springs squads dropped a pair of district games at North Panola Saturday evening.

The Hawks had some fourth-quarter woes on the road and lost 57-52.

Holly High led 38-34 at the end of the third, but the home team put up 23 fourth-quarter points to only 14 for the visitors.

It was the Hawks’ first loss to North Panola in four years.

“Credit a tough district rival for protecting home court,” Kilgore said. “We knew we would get their best effort. Coming off an emotionally- and physically-draining Friday night, we hit a wall, slowing our momentum, which was hard to recapture. Inconsistent free-throw shooting, unforced turnovers and bad bounces sealed our fate.”

Smith and Bell scored 20 each for Holly High. Miller had eight rebounds and Smith and Johnson six each.

The Lady Hawks fell behind by 16 at the half and went on to lose 49-36 at North Panola.

They trailed 13-6 after one quarter, 27-11 at intermission and 45-25 at the end of the third.

Arriyunna Washington had 10 points and seven rebounds in the loss. Jeffries added 10 points.

The Lady Hawks (6-15 overall and 2-5 in the district) and Hawks (14-9 overall and 6-1 in the district) visited Water Valley Tuesday. They will then host Water Valley Thursday and go to Coahoma AHS Friday to close out the regular season.

“We have three district games left to achieve our goal of being the number one seed going into the district tournament,” Kilgore said about the challenge ahead of his boys this week.

The Region 2-3A Tournament will be held next week in Marks at Palmer High School.