The Mount Pleasant Tigers hit the 20-win mark for the second straight season and the fifth time in the past six seasons with wins over Texas High on Friday and a 52-point romp of Marshall on Tuesday. The Tigers remain undefeated and maintain their state ranking of #11 with three district games remaining and a strong playoff push in their sights.

Mount Pleasant 58 Texas High 46

The Tigers pounced on Texas High early with a 21-5 burst in the first quarter and would maintain that lead the rest of the game. Texas High would win the next three quarters but couldn’t chip away enough to gain any momentum. The Tigers would lead by as many as 19 points before Texas High closed the gap to 48-40 midway through the fourth. Mount Pleasant would weather the storm and complete the season sweep for the second straight season.

Zaveion Chism-Okoh led all scorers with 19 points and a team high 4 steals. Payton Chism followed up in double digits with 12 points and 5 assists. Kelcey Morris finished with 8 points and Will Hills added 7 points and a team high 6 rebounds. Also scoring was Jakybrein Hines 3 points, Xzavier Brown 3 points, Miller McCrumby 2 points, Brock Cooper 2 points, and Elijah Morris 2 points.

Mount Pleasant 82 Marshall 28

After holding the Tigers to their lowest point total of the season in the last matchup, Marshall was hoping to have the same effect on the second go around. Mount Pleasant, however, decided to make up for lost points with a barrage of attacks on the basket and relentless full court pressure. Every Tiger scored in the lopsided affair as Mount Pleasant posted their highest scoring mark since starting district play.

Mount Pleasant started the game on an 8-0 run and only allowed one field goal to the Mavericks in the quarter to set the tone early. A Jakybrein Hines three-point bucket at the buzzer gave the Tigers a 20-3 advantage and there would be no let up the rest of the way. The Tigers outscored Marshall 18-5 in the second quarter to lead 38-8 at the half and then outscored the Mavericks 44-20 in the second half to cruise to the win. Zaveion Chism-Okoh led all scorers with 15 points while only playing three quarters. Hines added 11 points and 4 steals. The sophomore duo of Payton Chism and Kelcey Morris controlled the court with both players posting solid lines. Chism finished with 7 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists while Morris put up 4 points, 7 assists and 4 steals. Other scorers were Eliyah Tagg 9 points, Will Hills 6 points, James Jimerson 6 points, Miller McCrumby 5 points, Edward Wilder 4 points, Devin Williams 4 points, Xzavier Brown 4 points, Elijah Morris 4 points, and Brock Cooper 2 points.

The Tigers (20-0, 9-0) will host Pine Tree (4-13, 1-8) at home on Friday with the freshmen set to tipoff at 5 PM. JV will follow at 6:15 PM and the Varsity at 7:30 PM. All tickets must be purchased through the MPISD website using the passcode: mphstigers2020. The games will also be live streamed on the Mount Pleasant Tiger Basketball YouTube channel.

By Drew Barkley

Photo by Wayne Grubbs