Oak Grove coach Laron Brumfield’s message to his team was simple.
“We just told the kids to go out there and relax, and there was no pressure,” Brumfield said. “If we go out and play as hard as we can play and leave it all out on the court. Play all 32 minutes plus tax. Then I think we could be successful.”
Leaving it all on the court is what the Warriors did as Oak Grove cruised to a dominant 55-40 win over Gulfport in the third round of the 6A playoffs on Friday. The win will for the first time in the history of the Oak Grove boys’ basketball program, send the Warriors to the semifinals in Jackson.
“It’s like I told the team, I really couldn’t put into perspective,” Brumfield said. “It’s great. It feels good. I am overjoyed. We want to go a little bit farther, but in this moment to do it here on this court and work so hard to get here with all the things that we have gone through, not through this year but over the years of losing these games. To be able to finally get over the hump feels really, really good.”
Out the gate, Oak Grove jumped out to a 14-2 lead and never had to look back. Dylan Brumfield scored nine of his 17 team-leading points in the quarter.
“When Dylan comes out like, that’s my brother, so if he’s hot, then I’m going to feed him,” said Barnes, who scored 10 points. “If I’m hot, then he’ll feed me. It’s just vice versa, but overall, it’s a team effort. As long as everybody is sharing the ball and playing their part, then we should be straight.”
The Warriors maintained the second quarter pressure as Oak Grove outscored Gulfport 11-4 in the quarter to hold a 28-15 lead at the half.
“We just have been playing with a lot of confidence lately,” Brumfield said. “We have been having some really good practices. We have been able to focus on somethings in practice. We have been getting a lot of shots up.”
Another key part of Oak Grove’s success, as it has been all season, is the Warriors’ 3-point shooting as they made eight beyond the arc.
“We have to make shots because if we don’t, it’s going to be tough on us,” Brumfield said. “We are not one of the biggest teams in 6A.
“We have got to make shots in order to be successful.”
By the end of the third quarter, Oak Grove extended their lead to 46-26.
The moment was extra special for the senior-heavy Warriors, who played major roles the last two seasons.
“These guys have been talking about this for a long time,” Brumfield said. “Since they were ninth-graders, they have been talking about taking this team and winning the state championship. We were close to getting to the next step last year. These seniors who were sophomores (two years ago) when we won our first region tournament at Meridian. They really want it. Not just the seniors but everybody.”
For Barnes, the moment was great to savor, but the team is already looking ahead to the next game.
“We are just trying to get a ring,” Barnes said. “We have two more (games); we can’t get complacent. If we keep grinding and working hard we will be sizing our ring fingers.”
