PURVIS – Things were quickly decided between the Purvis boys and Sumrall as the two teams squared off in the first round of the Region 7-4A district tournament on Tuesday night.
The Bobcats put the game away after outscoring their rivals 25-4 in the second quarter to cruise to a 66-28 win.
“We definitely needed the momentum,” Sumrall coach Eric Cooper said. “We just came out ready and poised. It’s always good to get a big win like that to start the district tournament off.”
The game began close with Sumrall (8-18) taking a 9-4 lead midway through the first quarter, but the Tornados answered with two back-to-back buckets to narrow the lead 9-8.
The game then spiraled for Purvis, with the Bobcats going on a 15-2 run to take a 24-10 lead. Sumrall found success by forcing multiple turnovers and quickly scoring on the fast break.
“We just turned it up on defense and applied more pressure to them,” Cooper said. “Finally, we began to execute our offensive sets. Once we started seeing that and attacking, that was all she wrote.
“That opened up the fast break opportunities.”
The Bobcats held a 34-12 lead heading into the half, but despite the offensive output, Sumrall was held to 10 points in the third quarter, which left room for the Tornados to creep back in the game. However, another lingering issue Purvis struggled with was inefficient free shooting, as the Tornados were 8 of 26 from the line.
“The second quarter just didn’t go our way,” Purvis coach Matthew Lofton said. “I thought we got a little rushed there in the second quarter, especially when they made their run. Instead of us executing down the stretch, we got a little rattled.
“I think it was more of us than them.”
Sumrall closed the game by outscoring Purvis 22-8 in the fourth quarter. The Bobcats were led by Eli Haddox, who scored 13 points, while Manny Raanes led the Tornados with eight points.
Purvis finishes the season with a 9-17 record, which is a three-game improvement in Lofton’s second year of leading the program.
“Yes, we wanted to win tonight, but ultimately we wanted to build for the future,” Lofton said. “We definitely improved from Year 1 to Year 2.”
Sumrall will take on No. 2 seeded Lawrence County on Thursday at 4 p.m.
“(Lawrence County is) a great team,” Cooper said. “They always have athletes. It’s going to be a good game. They play very similar to us. They like to get up in you and put some pressure, so it’s going to be a tough battle.”
