Hattiesburg ended a drought in their own tournament.
Behind the play of guards Stephen McCullon and Christian Moody the Tigers got past Brandon 66-54 to claim the Hattiesburg Coca-Cola Holiday Tournament Championship on Saturday night.
It’s the first time since 2015 that the Tigers (15-1) have won the Holiday Tournament.
“The biggest thing about playing a team like Brandon is you have to turn them over and you have to have key possessions because they’re so good at what they do,” said Hattiesburg coach Ernie Watson. “Our guard play is good and if we can get the lead and you have to come out and guard us it’s hard to stop us.”
The first half was back-and-forth that saw Hattiesburg claiming to a 12-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.
After Brandon (9-8) took a 19-16 lead midway through the second quarter the Tigers went on a 8-0 run to regain the lead at 24-19 that was highlighted by six straight points scored by Tristan Keys and held a 29-23 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, Logan Burns made a three-point play that to give the Tigers a 36-28 lead, but the Bulldogs went on a 12-5 run to take a 42-41 lead with 1:06 remaining, however Hattiesburg responded with five straight points to take a 46-42 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Midway through the fourth quarter the Tigers went on a 8-0 run to stretch the lead out to 61-48 to put the game out of reach.
“We can get to the basket with anyone, but we have got our shots down and play some inside defense on a consistent basis and once we do that we’re going to be fine,” Watson said. “First time since 2015 we’ve won our own tournament and first time since 2015 we closed out the year with a win. Going into the new year with a lot of positive things.”
McCullon had a game-high 20 points to lead Hattiesburg, while Moody added 16 points. Keys and Burns each chipped in 13 points for the Tigers.
“We did a good job of playing defense down the stretch and got turnovers that led to easy baskets,” McCullon said. “Key was getting defensive rebounds and the offense would come and that’s what happened. Just keep executing and playing well as a team and we will hard to beat.”
Braylon Barnes had 15 points to lead Brandon, while Nate White added 14 points and Ginorrian Banks chipped in 13 points.
“That’s where we are. Young team with guys with not a lot of experience we just have turnovers at the wrong time,” said Brandon coach Fred Barnes. “We’re going to fix that problem, but tonight Hattiesburg is a well-coached team and they did a good job of taking advantage of our mistakes.”
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