Two teams go to Big House

H.W. Byers was dominant Monday afternoon in its first trip to Jackson since 2005.

The Lions left no doubt from the opening tip as they roared past McAdams 62-45 in the Class 1A state semi-finals at Mississippi Coliseum.

They advance to face Biggersville, the defending state champion, in the title contest Thursday at 3 p.m. At The Big House.

The Byers boys have never won a state basketball title. They have finished as state runners-up three times (once as Sand Flat and twice as Byers).

“We’ve got an opportunity,” coach James Sales said. “Now we just have to make the best of it.” Michael James and Jaylen Glover helped get things going on the right track in the semis. Each scored five points in the opening quarter as the Lions exploded to a 19-5 advantage.

“We came out and played real good defense in the first quarter and jumped on them,” Sales said. “We were playing the passing lanes and rebounding and scoring when we had the opportunity.”

The Bulldogs pulled to within eight in the final two minutes of the second, but James answered with a three.

Then his lay-up in the closing seconds of the half gave Byers a 29-17 halftime lead.

“We got in a little foul trouble in the second quarter, and that changed the momentum of the game,” Sales said. “Michael (James) hit a big three to push it back over 10.”

The Lions kept rolling in the third, stretching their lead to 16 at one point.

The score was 43-30 at the end of the period.

At the 4:19 mark of the fourth, Devin Moore sealed the deal when he dunked off an assist from Jabari Wright. The lead was 18, with the Byers fans getting loud, and the Lions went on to win by 17.

“We played sound basketball in the second half,” Sales said, “and we live to play another day.” James finished with a game-high 18 points for the Lions (22-4). Also scoring in double digits were Vincent Talley and Moore with 10 each.

Moore added to a solid all-around game by contributing 14 rebounds, eight assists and five blocked shots.

Sales said when he finally made it to the locker room after the game, he expected the team to be doing a lot of celebrating. Instead, they took a business-like approach.

“They said, ‘Coach, we have to come back Thursday and take care of business.’ “ Both Biggersville and Byers come from the northern part of the state, and Sales said he certainly believes the best two teams are playing for the 1A crown.

“We’ve been an underdog all along,” he said.

“I know if we show up Thursday and play good ball, it will be interesting. If we take care of the basketball and make our free throws and lay-ups, we will win — simple as that.”