An hour and a half before Petal's rivalry game against Oak Grove, the Panthers had as many as nine players show up to get extra shots.
The extra work paid off as the Panthers pulled together a dominant first half to defeat Oak Grove 53-33 at the Warriors gym on Friday night.
"This is the best team basketball that we have played all year," Petal coach Brandon Jennings said. "We still have a long way to go, but the hard work showed tonight in a rival game in a tough environment."
About midway through the first quarter, Oak Grove (6-10, 0-3) held a 6-5 lead, but quickly momentum shifted. The Panthers pulled together a 13-0 run and knocked down five of its nine 3-pointers in the first quarter to jump out to a 21-8 lead.
"In the first half, we were able to see something, get some steals, and get some layups," Jennings said. "We have a town of shooters. They are starting to gel right here at the right time, and I was proud of them tonight."
Petal (7-13, 1-2) sped up the game and forced numerous turnovers, setting up several open looks for its shooters.
"I thought we came out playing hard," Oak Grove coach Laron Brumfield said. "It was nip and tuck right there, and then all of a sudden, there were a few mishaps in what we were doing defensively with our game plan. We let them do exactly what we said we didn't want them to do. They got a few extra shots in there, and they made a few. Then it went downhill from there."
At the same time, Oak Grove lost its big center Curtis Poole, who had four blocks and two points at the start of the second quarter.
"He was really just starting to play good for us and started to move well," Brumfield said. "On the defensive end, he clogs the middle up so much. With him going down, it took the air out of us. But hey, it's the next man-up mentality, and we have to go out and play. We can't make excuses."
At the start of the second quarter, Petal opened with a 15-3 run to build a 25-point lead. Petal's Kingston Smith and Tyler Fulton accounted for four of the Panthers' shots made from beyond the arc in the first half.
Oak Grove adjusted and narrowed the score to 38-16 at the half. In the third quarter, the Warriors began to full-court press Petal and held the Panthers to just three points. However, the inconsistent offense kept Oak Grove from putting together a big run and narrowed the score to just 41-26.
"We wanted to pick it up on our end and press some," Brumfield said. "We held them to three points in the third quarter. We just couldn't convert on the offensive end. We'd get turnovers and then not get anything out of it. We just dug ourselves in such a deep hole."
Petal put the game away by knocking down two more 3-pointers at the start of the fourth quarter.
"I thought we were able to get some rebounds," Jennings said. "We were able to get out in transition and score the basketball late in that third quarter.
"Taking care of the basketball and rebounding the basketball are the two things that we worked on…Those two things are the keys to us getting some more district wins this year."
Fulton and Smith each accounted for 13 points, while Mekhi Keyes added 11 points. Oak Grove was led by Kristian Pounds, who scored eight points.
"We have to come out, and we have to play harder and play better," Brumfield said. "We practiced harder than we actually played today. That's on (us) from a coaching standpoint and a player standpoint. We all have to be held accountable."
"It doesn't slow down from here. We have a tough conference."
GIRLS: Oak Grove 49, Petal 33
The Lady Warriors picked up their first district win after defeating Petal.
Oak Grove now moves to 8-9 overall and 1-1 in Region 3-7A. Kennedy Bush scored a team-leading 23 points.
The Lady Panthers were led by Kennedy Moore, who scored 14 points. Petal drops to 3-14 overall and 0-2 in region play.
Petal hosts Meridian on Tuesday night, while Oak Grove travels to face Brandon.
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