Things are a work in progress for a Louisville boys basketball team that is not complete at the moment.
Mitchell McCurry’s first squad is playing without its football players for another week as the players get physically prepared for the game after making a run to the Class 4A state championship yet again. The Wildcats are playing pretty gritty basketball without them, however, and they did it again last week.
The Wildcats were up by five points in the second half but a late charge by Class 7A Starkville allowed the home team to get a lead and keep it in a 68-59 victory.
“I think we played really well. We’re maturing every day and the growth and maturity is helping a lot,” McCurry Said. “Learning a new style has been tough for them but they’re adapting well. I thought we were going to have a chance to win it, but I’ve got to be better.”
From the beginning, LHS was hanging in there. The Wildcats were down 18-17 in the first quarter and would pull ahead when they hit three free throws after time expired at the half making it 36-35. That lead jumped to five points early in the third quarter but the Jackets got a boost late in the third to grab a 50-47 advantage after three frames.
LHS was able to rebound on Thursday when it came back to take on rival Noxubee. The Wildcats rolled 50-29 in that game to get back on the winning track. Naj Coburn led the way in the win over the Tigers scoring 16 points with 10 of those coming in the second half.
The team is growing and set to have a big season if the football players add the expected boost soon.
“It’s going to be major with the football boys stepping in,” McCurry said. “It’ll be probably another week before I see them but the seven-man rotation that I have right now, they play really hard. In about a month or two, we’ll be ready to roll and we’ll have a chance to play for it when we get a chance to do what we need to do.”
The Wildcats (4-5) took on Leake Central on Tuesday and will travel just a couple miles away on Saturday to play in the Winston Classic at Winston Academy against Choctaw County on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.
Girls
Louisville continued its tough schedule on the girls side as well with the Lady Wildcats taking on the Lady Yellow Jackets on Tuesday.
LHS was facing an uphill battle against the undefeated Class 7A squad in a 58-38 defeat on the road.
The Lady Yellow Jackets steadily built a lead in the first half thanks to its defense. After jumping out to a 16-9 advantage in the first quarter, SHS would surrender just five points in the second to get the lead to 32-14. The lead grew to 47-25 after three quarters and was well in hand.
“The biggest thing is we’ve got to get out of foul trouble with our girls. If we don’t get in foul trouble, it’s a better game because our bigger girl is our focal point on offense. Without her, it changed a lot,” McCurry said. “Our girls play really hard. We only have one starter returning and we’re playing with four new players. It’s going to be tough early, but in the long run we’ll be fine.”
On Thursday, LHS was able to rebound just like the boys and the Lady Cats rolled to a 52-14 win over Noxubee County. The Cats scored 17 points each in the first and second quarters and would hold the Lady Tigers scoreless for the entirety of the fourth quarter.
Freshman Makayla Sam finished the night with 12 points to lead the way.
The win improved the Lady Cats to 5-5 on the season and the team had a road game against Leake Central on Tuesday night with a Monday matchup coming next week at home against Quitman.
