As a reporter, your story can take an unexpected turn, and last Friday, that was the case for me.
All season, I wanted to catch a game featuring Hattiesburg High and the Tigers’ star player Ethan Long, who stands at 6-foot-7 and holds offers from Mississippi State, Southern Miss and Jackson State.
I’ve had freelancers cover the Tigers earlier in the year, but whenever I had planned to watch Hattiesburg, something would happen, and I’d have to change my coverage plans.
Last Friday was finally going to be the night. The Tigers had a makeup game scheduled against Jim Hill, a solid team in itself. The online schedule read Hattiesburg was to host the Tigers of Jim Hill.
I showed up at Hattiesburg’s gym, and nobody was there. The gym lights were off. The game was being played at Jim Hill.
It’s known to happen when a sports reporter shows up to a game that was changed at the last minute. But I was disappointed, as I was looking forward to the matchup. It was already too late for me to catch another game, so I decided to take a rare Friday night off, considering I probably won’t get another until June.
Little did I know, my sports reporter instincts were on to something because an hour and 42 minutes away, there was definitely a game worth watching.
Hattiesburg pulled out a 69-61 win over Jim Hill, and Long put up 51 points.
Neither Long nor Hattiesburg High coach Ernie Watson realized the accomplishment until after the game.
“Somebody asked me at the end of the game how many he thought he had, and I said about 25,” Watson recalled. “And then I was told, ‘No coach, he had 51.’ I said 51!?.’ I had to check the book.”
According to Long, the most points he ever scored in a game was 35, and like his coach, he was also in disbelief.
“I was focused on winning,” Long said. “I really didn’t know. I didn’t realize it until they told me.
“You dream about having big games like that, but I have never done that.”
To break Long’s night down the junior scored seven points in the first quarter and then 11 in the second to give him 18 at halftime.
“He did in such a way that it was spread out throughout the quarters, so you really didn’t notice,” Watson said. “And our other kids are playing well even though they scored 19 combined. It just seemed like just a normal night.”
Then Long erupted in the third quarter as he scored 19, which were all of the points the Tigers scored. He then capped off the night with 14 more in the fourth.
To break down his night even further, Long hit four three-pointers and went 9-for-13 from the free-throw line. When asked how he did it, Long quickly credited his teammates because of how well they played but also for being grateful for the trust they had in him.
“My teammates trust me,” Long said. “It was a close game, and I was just focused on winning.”
It’s worth noting that it’s not a school record, as Damien Smith, who went on to play at Southern Miss, scored 67 points in a 113-99 win against South Jones in the early 1990s. But for Watson, it was the first time he had ever coached a player who scored 50 in a game.
“I’ve had a lot of kids come close, but never 50,” Watson said. “He’s an even better kid off the court, and that’s what I like about him. He’s personable and respectful. When he gets on the court, he turns into a different person. He’s really competitive and really intense. I like how he can turn it on and off. I really like that because that’s how I am.”
Long is now only five points away from scoring 1,000 points this season, and the Tigers are now riding an 8-game win streak entering the district tournament.
“We’ve got a good little win streak going, and we’re just trying to keep it going,” Long said.
Hattiesburg will play host team Pearl River Central to open the Region 3-6A tournament tonight at 8:30 p.m.
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