After a buzzer beating overtime victory at Sulphur Springs a couple of weeks ago, the Mount Pleasant Tigers felt they left some unfinished business on the court and had something left to prove Tuesday night. The Tigers entered the game against the rival Wildcats with more than just their undefeated record on the line. With a victory, the Tigers would clinch their second consecutive district championship and get to cut down the nets on their home court in front of a sellout crowd. It was also Senior Night as the Tigers held a pre-game ceremony to honor their ten upcoming graduates including seven players and three student assistants.

From the tip, the Tigers game plan worked to perfection as the Mount Pleasant defense stifled any attempt the Wildcats had to score. Early baskets opened up a 6-0 lead for the Tigers as Sulphur Springs could only muster two points in the frame. The Tigers would take an early 11-2 lead after the first quarter as the Wildcats would never recover. The second quarter was more of the same for the Tiger defense as the Wildcats couldn’t find any rhythm offensively. Mount Pleasant would push the lead to 23-7 at the break and head into the locker with a comfortable lead. Sulphur Springs would regroup in the third quarter and finally put some points on the board but the Tigers matched them basket for basket to set the score at 40-24 heading into the fourth quarter. The Tigers went into game control mode from there on out with the Wildcats forced to trap which led to dunks by Zaveion Chism-Okoh and Xzavier Brown and put the exclamation point on the Tigers victory. Mount Pleasant held Sulphur Springs to their lowest scoring output of the season forcing 15 turnovers, dominating the boards 39-29, and forcing the Wildcats to just 27% shooting from the field.

Sophomore guard Payton Chism put up a game-high 19 points to go along with 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 5 steals. His cousin, senior Zaveion Chism-Okoh, was close behind with 17 points. Xzavier Brown added 9 points and 7 rebounds and Will Hills chipped in 4 points and controlled the glass with 9 rebounds. Kelcey Morris and Miller McCrumby put up 3 points each to round out the scoring.

The #10 Tigers (22-0, 11-0) will finish up district play on Friday at Hallsville (15-10, 5-6). All three teams will play with the freshmen set to tip at 5:00 PM, followed by the JV at 6:15 PM, and the Varsity at 7:30 PM.

 

By Drew Barkley
Photos by John Whitten