Noxapater basketball coach Jerrick Porter warned his kids not to take Nanih Waiya lightly after beating the Warriors 50-39 in the Ethel Tournament.
Porter was right to be worried. The Warriors avenged the early season loss to the rival Tigers as they took a 50-34 win. The Warriors also had a 57-48 win over Starkville Christian but dropped a 42-37 decision to Sebastopol.
Nanih Waiya will return to action this week as they travel to West Lowndes on Tuesday and will host Hamilton on Friday.
Noxapater will travel to Vardaman on Tuesday in their only action this week.
Nanih Waiya boys 50,
Noxapater 34
The Warriors overcame an early deficit and pulled away for a 16-point win over the Tigers on Friday.
Noxapater led 13-11 at the end of the first period but Nanih Waiya used an 11-7 advantage in the second to lead 22-20 at the half. The Warriors started to pull away in the second half as they outscored the Tigers 15-10 in the third and 13-4 in the fourth.
“Coach Porter and his kid are tough as nails,” Nanih Waiya coach Jason Morgan said. “We knew going in that we would have to really raise our level of toughness if we were going to win. I was very happy with how hard our kids played.”
Izaiaha Nicholson led Nanih Waiya with 10 points while Trey McMullan, Tyquan McCully, Ethan Dailey and Jordan Higginbotham each had eight points apiece.
Higginbotham led the Warriors with seven rebounds while Nicholson had six rebounds. McMullan and McCully also had four rebounds apiece.
Jordan Wilson led Noxapater with 14 pants while Bryon Glass had 11 points and K.D. Carter added six points.
Nanih Waiya boys 57,
Starkville Christian 48
The Warriors built a first-half lead and were able to maintain that advantage in the second half to take a nine-point win over Starkville Christian.
Nanih Waiya jumped out to a 14-8 lead in the first period and outscored the Cougars 9-6 in the second for a 23-14 lead at the half. Starkville outscored Nanih Waiya 13-12 in the third but the Warriors used a 22-21 advantage in the fourth for the final margin.
Trey McMullan and Jordan Higginbotham had 13 points apiece. Higginbotham also had four rebounds while McMullan had four rebounds. Ethan Dailey had 10 points, six assists, four rebounds and three assists. Tyquan McCully had seven points while Izaiaha Nicholson had six points and led the Warriors with nine rebounds. Jaynus Williams also had seven rebounds for the Warriors.
Sebastopol boys 42,
Nanih Waiya 37
The Bobcats used a big third period and held on late to take a five-point win on Saturday.
Nanih Waiya led 10-9 at the end of the first but Sebastopol tied the game at 22 a he half. The Bobcats pulled away in the third, outscoring the Warriors 16-4 in the third to take a 38-26 lead into the fourth. The Warriors outscored the Bobcats 11-4 in the fourth but couldn’t complete the comeback.
Rodney Welch led the Warriors with 11 points while Tyquan McCully had six points. Ethan Dailey and Tre Harlan each had five points apiece.
Hamilton boys 49,
Noxapater 42
The Tigers played one of their better games of the season but still fell by seven points to the Lions.
Hamilton led 11-7 at the end of the first quarter and each team scored 14 points in the second period as the Lions led 25-21 at the half. The Lions gradually extended their lead in the second half, outscoring the Tigers 12-10 in the third and 12-11 in the fourth.
Jordan Wilson scored 18 points to lead the Tigers while K.D. Carter and Kyle Phillips each had seven points apiece.
