A set back before Christmas against Yazoo County was just a speed bump in the road for the Louisville boys basketball team.
Since that point, the Wildcats are getting it done with four-straight wins. The latest was a 65-64 victory over Northeast Lauderdale on the road last Tuesday to start off Class 4A, Region 4 play. It was a game that coach Kylan Tippett wasn’t completely thrilled about but the win was the biggest takeaway.
“Being that was our first district game, it was good to see us close that one out,” Tippett said. “Going into district, everything comes down to the wire. But we learned that we need to come out and take care of business. If it comes down to a tiebreaker, just winning by one point is going to have us behind the eight ball. We’ve got to do a better job.”
LHS was playing catchup early in the ball game as they trailed 15-9 at the end of the first quarter but they got the offense going over the next two quarters scoring 20 points in the second quarter and another 19 in the third to take a 48-41 advantage into the fourth.
Northeast threw one last punch in the fourth quarter as they exploded for 23 points and the Wildcats would have to hold on for dear life to take home the one-point win.
Tyrell Thames was the leader in the clubhouse with his 22 points in the game hitting three of his four 3-pointers in that big second quarter. Veseddrick Culberson was right behind him with 20 points of his own and the two players combined for 13 of the team’s final 17 points.
The Wildcats (8-3, 1-0 Region 4) were ready to get back in action for the first home Region 4 game on Friday night but the threat of weather cancelled that ball game.
It had been a tough week of practice preparing for a Kosciusko team that has always been one of the toughest of the Wildcats’ opponents over the years. Tippett was disappointed the game had to be rescheduled and they are hoping they’ll be playing again on Feb. 1.
“That was one of those games that was circled on the schedule because we had to win it at home. Kosciusko is always a tough opponent and they have a good group of guys,” Tippett said. “I had put the guys in a position where we were going to play a good game. I hated it got cancelled because we were ready to play them. It’s like icing the kicker.”
The postponement of that ball game means that the Wildcats will go without playing for nine days with the next game scheduled for Thursday against Leake Central on the road. Tippett noted the importance of continuing the hot streak that the team is on so they have a chance to win the division.
“Leake Central is just like Kosciusko. They’re going to be disciplined and play hard. They turn it up a notch when they play Louisville and they’ll be really tough to beat,” Tippett said. “We’re looking to come out and get the job done.”
The Wildcats will also take part in the Mid-Mississippi Challenge in Ackerman Saturday night as they play the host team Choctaw County in the final game of the day.
GIRLS
The Louisville girls had some good news and bad news come out of the week.
The bad news happened to be a 48-44 loss to open Region 4 play when they went on the road to Northeast Lauderdale. The Lady Wildcats had a tough setback that started off the district games on a rough foot but time still remains to compete for a title.
On an individual front, the Lady Wildcats have two juniors that are considered by the Mississippi Association of Coaches as two of the best in the state. Kiersten Ball and Areyanna Hunter were both named to the MAC North team for the North/South All-Star game coming up in March.
The game will be played at 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 21, at A.E. Wood Coliseum in Clinton on the campus of Mississippi College. Admission will be $10.
As for the Lady Wildcats as it stand, they fell to 10-4 with their loss to Northeast Lauderdale but are back in the groove at Leake Central on Tuesday night. They will also play in the Mid-Mississippi Challenge on Saturday against East Webster at 9:30 a.m.
