The Leflore County boys basketball team might just have some of the same postseason magic that took the Tigers’ football team to the state championship in December.
After starting the season 1-9, Leflore (13-17) has pieced together an impressive turnaround to advance to Saturday’s Class 2A quarterfinals at Pine Grove.
The Panthers (22-8) are led by senior guard Carson Rowland, who leads 2A in total points and assists. Last Saturday, Rowland converted a late four-point play to lift Pine Grove past two-time defending state champion Coahoma County, 56-48.
Rowland might be the best player on the floor when the third round tips off at 5 p.m., but the Tigers have strength in numbers. Their rotation regularly runs nine or 10 players deep compared to the Panthers’ typical six-man rotation. Leflore head coach Michael Higgins believes he can use that depth to his advantage.
“I did notice how they were patient and poised, not really rushing,” Higgins said. “But with the style I play and the depth I have, I can definitely speed them up, and I’m going to try to make sure I can dictate the game as much as possible. I plan on adding pressure — that’s something I noticed Coahoma didn’t do a lot of.
“Late in the game, their main guy was tired, but he was still pushing,” Higgins added of Rowland, who averages 19 points and nearly five assists per game. “If he had constant pressure on him all night, he probably wouldn’t have been able to finish as he did. They shoot the ball well, they make every possession count, but we got good defense, and we plan on adding pressure.”
The Tigers will also have to watch out for Pine Grove junior guard Jack Hudson, a dangerous sharpshooter who averages 11.7 points per game.
“They made several threes, but I did notice how they were open,” Higgins said. “Most of the shots I saw on film were wide open. We close out to the ball well and rotate well, so teams in the past haven’t shot the three on us that well. If we just continue to play our style of defense — helping out, rotating, closing out, cutting the drive off — we’ll be OK.”
The Panthers, the No. 1 seed out of Region 1-2A, have lost just one game at home this season and four total games at home the past three years.
Leflore might be an underdog on the road, but the Tigers were also counted out last week when they upset a Palmer team that had beaten them twice already this season.
Leflore’s well-rounded scoring performances make the Tigers difficult to prepare for — Pine Grove can’t just focus on one or two guys. Against Palmer, Leflore showed its versatility by getting key contributions from Dante Kelly (14 points), Keveunte Parker (10 points), DJ Jones (nine points), Tavian Dean (seven points) and Kamari Buck (five points).
“Any one of my guys can have a good night,” Higgins said. “Different guys have stepped up when their number has been called.”
- Contact Riley Overend at 662-581-7237 or roverend@gwcommonwealth.com. Follow @GWC_Sports on Twitter.
