Hawks, Cardinals advance

It was a very tough assignment for coach Kenzaki Jones’ Holly Springs Hawks but they proved to be up to the challenge.

The Hawks rolled into the Delta Saturday night and departed with a 57-55 win over Coahoma Agricultural in the second round of the Class 3A state playoffs.

They dealt the Tigers just their second loss of the season.

“We had a hard-fought game against a great team,” said Jones, in his first season at the helm of the Hawks. “I’m proud of my guys for sticking to the game. We were able to weather the storm and come out with the win.”

It was a pressure-packed game throughout in Clarksdale.

Holly High, behind seven first-quarter points from Derek Fountain, went ahead 15-6.

Coahoma County battled back to tie the game at 28 at the half.

Tyhem Reaves had six points, including a three, in the third and the Hawks carried a 42-39 advantage to the final period.

Fountain, finished with a game-high 22 points, cashed in seven in the final eight minutes as Holly High got out of town with the two-point win.

Reaves contributed 12 points.

The Hawks, with a 24-7 record, advance to meet Noxubee County Friday at 7 p.m. in the quarter-finals at Itawamba Community Col - lege.

With a win, they move on to Jackson next week for the “Final Four.” The state title game this year will then be played at Ole Miss.

The past two seasons Holly High has lost in the 3A championship game.

Round one

The Hawks easily disposed of Aberdeen in round one of the playoffs Tuesday night of last week at home – winning 101-46.

The Hawks stormed to an 11-0 lead with 5:23 to go in the first, forcing a Bulldog timeout.

Aberdeen did not score its first bucket until the 5:05 mark of the opening quarter.

Reaves hit back-to-back threes to close the first, and Holly High surged ahead 30- 11.

Three minutes later, Fountain slammed to make it 42- 13.

The home team’s lead at the half was 48-19.

The trend continued in the third. Fountain slammed again, and Reaves drilled a three. The score at the end of the period was 71-31.

In the fourth, Cori Bell and Marquaveous Jones got in on the dunking act, as the Hawks went on to break the century mark and win by 55 points.

Top scorers for Holly High were Bell and Fountain with 17 each and Reaves and Jones with 15 each. Eleven Hawks scored.