Just a year ago, Hattiesburg was not supposed to be a good team.
Despite the Tigers returning no starters from its Final Four team, Hattiesburg reached the quarterfinals and was a basket short of returning to the Big House. Naturally, for anyone who pays attention to Hattiesburg basketball, a deep playoff run is no surprise, but regardless, last season’s ending has made expectations high for this season.
The Tigers, who feature 10 seniors, have begun to look the part as they made quick work of Laurel on Tuesday night in a 49-35 win. The victory gives Hattiesburg a 2-0 start in region play and improves their record to 11-7.
“They understand what we are supposed to do,” said Hattiesburg coach Ernie Watson on the expectations surrounding his team. “They have set goals. They have done everything the right way. It’s just the mental part of the game that they are struggling with right now. They have the talent. They have the ability. It’s just the mental part.”
The game was quickly decided in the first quarter. Hattiesburg and Laurel (3-5, 0-2) traded 3-pointers, with the two teams combining to make six shots from beyond the arc. However, the Tigers took control of the transition game and broke the game open with the fastbreak, and pulled together a 14-3 run to take a 24-13 lead.
Hattiesburg then took control of the time possession as the Tigers kept Laurel from scoring in double digits for the rest of the night. Hattiesburg went into the half with a 36-19 lead and then built as much as a 21-point lead by the fourth quarter.
“The game plan was to make sure we had a lead going into the half,” Watson said. “We didn’t foul them and were making sure that we stayed steady. We really focused on ending the game. We didn’t let them score and didn’t let them do what they wanted to do. We passed the ball around a bit with the lead and made them scramble for us and score easy baskets.”
That problem is a pure example of Hattiesburg’s team struggling with going from being the hunter to the hunted. Watson believes that if his team can master the mental side of the game, then it’d be safe to say that his team will be hard to beat.
“People are telling them that they are good,” Watson said. “People are telling them that they are supposed to be ranked and all that. But the bottom line is that they still have to work. They have to get ready, and they have to prepare.
“We’ve lost four games this year after having a lead and lost a game because (we got too comfortable). It’s a lack of concentration and a lack of motivation at the end and just making sure to close out. Right now, they are learning that.”
Leading Hattiesburg in scoring was Logan Burn, who scored 13 points off the bench. Yet what makes the Tigers’ win almost more impressive is that none of their top three scorers surpassed double digits, two of which only scored a basket.
“He’s a junior off the bench,” Watson said. “You can have somebody scoring 20 or 30 points and still lose, but if everybody is contributing, then you are going to be good.
“We have that weapon to where we can go inside. We have 3-point shooters and guys that can get to the basket and pull up and shoot. If we have to ever grind and play slow ball, we’ve got that too.”
Hattiesburg travels to play Wayne County on Friday, with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m.
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