Mount Pleasant fans have become accustomed to hard fought matches with rival Sulphur Springs as the Tigers and Wildcats have won the past five district championships. Tuesday night at Willie Williams Gym did not disappoint as Mount Pleasant clawed their way back from a 14-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat the #21 state-ranked Sulphur Springs.

The Tigers opened the game on a 7-2 spurt as the raucous student section, dubbed “The Tiger Den”, fueled the Mount Pleasant offense. Sulphur Springs would respond with some easy buckets however, to take a 13-11 advantage at the first break. Both teams traded blows in the second quarter with the Wildcats edging the Tigers 14-13 in the quarter to take a 27-24 lead at the half, but Mount Pleasant’s attack style of play put a couple of the Wildcat players in foul trouble. Sulphur Springs regrouped and came out on fire in the third quarter as it looked as if they were going to run away with the game extending their lead to 45-34 heading into the final frame.

That lead would continue to increase to 49-35 before the Tigers would begin their run. Just as head coach Joey Chism voiced between quarters, “They made their run. Now it’s time to make ours!”, Mount Pleasant took those words to heart and chipped away at the deficit. Tenacious defense and relentless attack of the basket by the tandem guard play of Payton Chism and Kelcey Morris put the Tigers on the line 10 times in the quarter, connecting on 8 free tries. Freshman Reggie Webster also knocked down a key three pointer that cut the lead to under ten with half a quarter left to play. An 18-2 run to end the game was punctuated by a Chism steal and drop off to Morris under the basket that knotted the game at 51-51. The Tiger defense ramped up their pressure on the next possession capped by a Morris steal and drive that sent him to the free throw line. The junior guard calmly knocked down both shots to give the Tigers their first lead since the beginning of the first quarter. A last second heave by Sulphur Springs at the buzzer would be off the mark as the Tigers took the win.

Kelcey Morris led all scorers with 18 points including a 7 for 8 mark from the charity stripe. Payton Chism notched his 1000th career point, a rare high school feat, scoring 15 points to go along with a team high 5 assists and 6 steals. Edward Wilder added 8 points and Reggie Webster put up 5 points. Other scorers were Kai Price 3 points, Elijah Morris 2 points, and Kyler Smith 2 points. Mount Pleasant went 16 of 21 from the free throw line and turned the Wildcats over 26 times which led to 28 points.

The Tigers improved to 16-7 overall and moved into a tie for first place in the district standings at 4-1 with Hallsville, setting up a marquee game on the road Friday. The Tigers will travel to Hallsville with games beginning at 5:00 PM.

Write up by Drew Barkley
Photos by John Whitten