Holly High sweeps Rosa Fort
It didn’t come easy for the Holly Springs Hawks when they wrapped up Region 2-3A regular season play.
A pesky bunch of Rosa Fort Lions kept hanging around Tuesday night, Feb. 1, before the host Hawks were able to turn it up a notch and snatch the 71-61 win on Senior Night.
Marquavous Jones opened the game with a dunk. Three minutes later Anfernee Lesuer drilled a three. Holly High was up 16-12 at the end of the first.
Jones kept the momentum on Holly High’s side early in the third. His three followed by a steal and slam upped the lead to 23-13.
The advantage dwindled to two about a minute later, but at the half the Hawks were on top 32-27.
Rosa Fort rallied to go up by three with 4:57 left in the third. Then Holly Springs’ Ded’Drick Faulkner took control. He scored nine straight points to push the home team ahead 45-37. The lead was 4940 after three periods.
The Hawks led by as many as 19 in the fourth but the Lions didn’t go away. They cut it to eight with 1:19 left before Holly High won by 10.
Top scorers for Holly High were Faulkner with 19, M. Jones with 18 and Camron Isom with 11. Isom scored seven in the fourth, including a big three.
Jones grabbed nine rebounds and had four steals, and Isom dished out four assists.
The Lady Hawks had some early struggles against Rosa Fort but pulled away for a 5628 district win on Senior Night.
They fell behind 8-6 in the first quarter. With 5:26 left in the second, Dajah Turner stole the basketball and scored. Holly High led 18-11 and forced a Rosa Fort timeout. It was 25-16 at halftime.
Turner continued to spark her team in the third. Her takeaway and basket with 1:57 on the clock lifted the lead to 3618.
The Lady Hawks were on top by 21 at the end of the third and went on to win by 28.
Turner poured in a gamehigh 23 points. Others in double digits were Arkjah Sims with 11 and Jakyria Hankins with 10.
The Hawks (9-14 overall and 5-3 in the district) and Lady Hawks (6-14 overall and 4-3 in the district) will host the Region 2-3A Tournament this week. The boys are the number two seed and the girls the number three seed.
“We are playing a lot better as opposed to the beginning of the season which is typical for most high school programs,” said Andre Jones, head coach of the Holly High boys. “I feel good about post-season play. Our goal is to be the best team every night in the post-season games. Our timing is better offensively and defensively. We’re looking forward to it.”
Both Holly High squads will play Thursday in the district semi-finals. The Lady Hawks go against Independence at 7 p.m. And the Hawks collide with rival Byhalia at 8:30 p.m. Consolation and championship contest are set for Friday, starting at 4 p.m. The top four teams will
move on to the first round of the state playoffs next week, the girls Monday, Feb. 14, and the boys, Tuesday, Feb. 15.
Holly High-Horn Lake
The Hawks visited Class 6A Horn Lake Saturday and lost the final regular season contest of the season, 94-70.
Holly High was on top early, 18-16, and then trailed 40-37 at intermission.
In the second half, the host Eagles soared to the 24-point win. They outscored the Hawks 29-21 in the third and 25-12 in the fourth.
Faulkner was Holly High’s top gun with 23 points. He was seven of 10 from the free throw line. M. Jones had 13 and Jabez Jones 11.
The Holly High girls lost 65-24 to one of the state’s top 6A squads. Turner tallied 17 of the 24.