Noxapater boys basketball coach Jarrick Porter didn’t know how far his Tigers could go this season.
The Tigers came up one game short of a trip to the Mississippi Coliseum as they lost 86-68 to Coffeeville in the second round of the Class 1A playoffs on Saturday. The Tigers beat Mount Olive 63-55 in the first round on Tuesday night.
“The kids really worked hard, mentally and physically,” Porte said. “It was a matter of trying to change the culture here and these seniors did that. I don’t think these seniors realize the type of impact they have had on this program. They had never won before but learned to play basketball the way it supposed to be played. For them not to give up this year, it speaks volumes about the as human beings. They never gave up and that will follow them their entire lives.”
The Tigers finished the season with a 12-9 record and finished second in the District 6-1A regular season and tournament.
Noxapater’s Jared Triplett was named the District 6-1A Best Offensive Player and an all-district selection. Malik Miller, Depodray Coburn and Dee Woods were also named all-district selection.
Noxapater boys 63,
Mount Olive 55
The Tigers used a big second quarter and held that lead as they took an eight-point win over the Pirates in the first round of the Class 1A playoffs on Tuesday.
Noxapater led just 15-14 at the end of the first but then outscored Mount Olive 15-6 in the second to take a 30-20 lead into the half. The Tigers extended the lead in the third period as they outscored the Pirates 15-12 to lead 45-32 going to the fourth. Mount Olive outscored Noxapater 23-18 in the fourth but the Tigers held on for the win.
Senior Jared Triplett had his best game of the season with 33 points and five rebounds as he was 12-of-12 from the field and 9-of-12 from the free-throw line. Senior Malik Miller had 13 points while senior Depodray Coburn had eight points and five rebounds.
Coffeeville 86,
Noxapater 68
The Tigers jumped out to an early lead before Coffeeville got hot from the field and ran away with the contest.
Noxapater led 18-6 early in the first period before Coffeeville went on a 14-0 run to lead 22-16 at the end of the first. The Pirates then outscored the Tigers 27-5 in the second and led 49-21 at the half.
“The second quarter really hurt us,” Porter said. “They had a guy who started hitting threes from the time line. There’s not much you can do about that. They outscored us 27-5 and that really hurt us. The game was close in the first, third and fourth quarters. We had a good game plan. They just hit a lot of threes and got the crowd going. They had a real home court advantage and played really well at home.”
Malik Miller led Noxapater with 28 points while Jared Triplett had 20 points and six rebounds while Quinton Jordan added 11 points.
