Friday sports: District play opens with Northpoint split with Harding

Photo: Northpoint Christian’s Patton Huxford drives toward the basket during the Trojans’ game against Harding Academy at Northpoint Friday night, Jan. 5. (Bob Bakken/desotocountynews.com)

Northpoint Christian’s basketball team battled hard in district play Friday night against Harding Academy but came away with split results as Trojans fell to the Lions in the boys game after the Lady Trojans held off the Lady Lions in the girls basketball opener.  

BOYS: HARDING ACADEMY 41, NORTHPOINT CHRISTIAN 35

Northpoint opened the contest with a 9-2 lead but Harding came back to get within 9-8 at the end of the quarter.  The Trojans held the lead at 13-10 in the second quarter until five quick points in succession handed Harding a 15-13 edge with 3:55 remaining before halftime. The Trojans would recover and take a 19-17 lead into the locker room at intermission.  

In the second half, Harding took control of the game with a 22-21 lead four minutes into the third quarter and a 32-23 advantage going into the final eight minutes of play.  The last quarter featured a lot of deliberate play by the Lions as they protected the lead for the final score. 

Ayden Kelly led Northpoint with 14 points for the game and Patton Huxford added 11 more.  Kelly was held without a field goal and just five free throws in the second half. Chaziah Curry paced Harding with a game-high 18 points, 9 points in each half.

GIRLS: NORTHPOINT CHRISTIAN 41, HARDING ACADEMY 38

The Lady Trojans held an 8-7 lead after one quarter behind a field goal and three-point by Lillie Milligan. But Harding tied the game at 18-18 at halftime. Northpoint would hold Harding to just five points in the third quarter as the Lady Trojans took a 30-23 lead going into the final quarter, but actually had to put an eight-point run together late in the period to take the lead. Nailah Herrera and Macy Boaz each scored four points in the quarter to key the offense.  

Northpoint retained a seven-point lead at 39-32 with 2:07 remaining, but the Lady Lions fashioned a late run that fizzled when two free throws were missed when the lead for Northpoint was 40-38 with 2.4 seconds remaining. A rebound foul on the second missed free throw put the Lady Trojans back on the charity stripe, where one made free throw sealed the victory.  

Milligan and Herrera each finished with 11 points for Northpoint in the victory. Bella Rose Austin had 10 points to lead Harding.  

FRIDAY’S DESOTO COUNTY SCOREBOARD

Prep boys basketball

Lake Cormorant 65, Grenada 54

Lewisburg 59, DeSoto Central 54

Horn Lake 60, Southaven 55

• Horn Lake scoring: Ronald Wilson (20), Tylan Young (19)
• Southaven scoring: Roderius Donley (14), Jhordan Shivers (13)

Oxford 86, Hernando 56

Harding Academy 41, Northpoint Christian 35

Prep girls basketball

Lake Cormorant 57, Grenada 55

Lewisburg 52, DeSoto Central 48 (overtime)

Southaven 33, Horn Lake 30

• Horn Lake scoring: Lamyah Harris (15)
• Southaven scoring: Alana Smith (15), Jakayla Spears (12)

Hernando 59, Oxford 41

Northpoint Christian 41, Harding Academy 38

NBA G League basketball

Rio Grande Valley 118, Memphis Hustle 113 BOX SCORE

Prep boys soccer

Oxford 5, Southaven 0

Prep girls soccer

Oxford at Southaven

SPORTS ETC.: The 2023 TSSAA Division II-A state baseball championship team from Northpoint was recognized at halftime of the boys’ basketball game Friday night as they received their state championship rings. The Trojans (35-6-1) won the title last spring in their third straight appearance (and fourth overall) in the championship round at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, defeating Goodpasture 6-5 in the final game. The 35 victories is a school record and the Trojans won its district title for third straight year, hitting the baseball at a .354 clip, while the pitching staff put together a 1.91 earned run average. Northpoint coach Stephen Kirkpatrick was named Tennessee state coach of the year and Hudson Brown was tabbed as state player of the year.