Avant’s buzzer-beater caps comeback; DeSoto Central stuns Olive Branch 53-52
OLIVE BRANCH, Miss. – Hunter Avant drained a three-point shot at the buzzer to cap a stunning second-half comeback, giving the DeSoto Central boys’ basketball team a dramatic 53-52 victory over rival Olive Branch on Tuesday night.
The shot gave the Jaguars their only lead of the entire contest, sealing a remarkable rally after trailing by 13 points at halftime.
Olive Branch appeared to be in complete control early, taking a 15-7 lead after the first quarter. The Conquistadors’ defense stifled the Jaguars in the second, holding DeSoto Central to just five points to build a 25-12 halftime lead.
“Just an incredible fight,” said DeSoto Central coach Blake Orman. “I believe that may have been our first lead of the night… as the buzzer went off. We battled back… and just never gave up.”
Orman attributed the rough start to inexperience and nerves.
“I think (we) got a lot of new guys that are inexperienced, and just the environment, I just think we were pressing a little bit and a little timid to attack,” Orman said.
That changed in the second half. DeSoto Central came out of the locker room with renewed defensive intensity, sparking a rally. The Jaguars cut the lead to 25-15 with 5:53 left in the third and closed the quarter trailing just 34-32.
“Our defense turned into a lot of offense for us,” Orman explained. “We were pressing and really kind of sped them up… using our defense in transition.”
Olive Branch managed to stretch the lead back to 42-34 in the fourth quarter, thanks to a pair of three-point shots. But the Jaguars continued to chip away, getting within 50-49 with 1:11 remaining.
DeSoto Central had as many as three opportunities to take the lead in the final two minutes but came up empty each time, setting the stage for the final play.
With the Jaguars down 52-50, Orman opted not to call a timeout, a decision that paid off.
“We hadn’t executed very much successfully all night,” Orman said. “I just saw that we had two of my better downhill drivers going at the rim, and a good shooter stuck out in the corner. So I just let it play out. … Very fortunate the last shot… did find a way to make it.”
DeSoto Central scored the game’s final four points, climaxed by Avant’s game-winner.
Kayson Moore Jr. led the Jaguars in scoring with 12 points. Avant and Shaun Banger followed with 11 points each.
Cordi Smith was the high-point man for Olive Branch with 11 points, and Antonio Hassell added 10 points.
Saturday, Nov. 8
JUCO football
MACCC semifinals
- Northwest 28, Copiah-Lincoln 27
- East Mississippi 45, Gulf Coast 24
- East Mississippi will play at Northwest for the MACCC championship on Saturday, Nov. 15.
Prep boys basketball
- Hernando 75, Cleveland Central 41
- DeSoto Central 53, Olive Branch 52
- Tunica Rosa Fort 53, Center Hill 40
- Magnolia Heights 49, Leflore County 31
Prep girls basketball
- Cleveland Central 37, Hernando 26
- Olive Branch 53, DeSoto Central 31
- Tunica Rosa Fort 46, Center Hill 40
- Independence 51, Southaven 37
Prep boys soccer
- Lewisburg 3, Germantown (Madison) 1
Prep girls soccer
- Lewisburg 2, Germantown (Madison) 1
NOTABLES: Chase Overstreet scored 19 points and Jumarion Joyner added 17 in the Hernando boys’ 75-41 victory over Cleveland Central…Kristian Nevels led the Hernando girls with 7 points and Carmen Stevenson scored 6 points in the Lady Tigers’ 37-26 loss to Cleveland Central.
