PETAL – The Oak Grove boys opened what they hope is a long, productive postseason run with authority Tuesday night in the opening round of the Region 5-6A Tournament.
The Warriors jumped all over George County from the outset, built a 20-point halftime lead and cruised to a 78-45 victory.
Oak Grove (15-2), ranked sixth in the Mississippi Gridiron Overall Top 10 rankings and No. 4 in Class 6A, advanced to Friday’s championship game against Meridian, which moved on by forfeit when Petal went into quarantine for COVID-19 protocols.
“That was our main focus,” Oak Grove coach Laron Brumfield said. “We wanted to make sure we came out at the start playing very hard on both ends of the court, especially on defense.
“We feel like if come out hard on defense, our offense will play a little bit better, and it did. We passed the ball really well, got open shots, we knocked them down and that set the tone for the rest of the game. We built on that as the game went along.”
Senior guard Jay Barnes got the Warriors going right from the opening tip, swishing a 3-pointer from the left wing with the first shot of the game. Barnes finished with 18 points to lead Oak Grove, including four shots from behind the arc.
“I just came out aggressive,” Barnes said. “My team trusts me with the ball. They put the ball in my hands to make plays, and that’s what I did tonight.”
Oak Grove never trailed, but the Rebels hit some early shots to get it to a 7-7 tie, but that is when the Warriors turned on the afterburners.
Rahmil Thompson beat the George County defense for a fast-break layup, Barnes followed with another trey, Dylan Brumfield got a putback layup and Tyrus Crump buried another 3-point shot in an 8-0 run that effectively decided the game.
During that stretch, the Rebels had three straight one-and-dones, thanks to the swarming Warrior defense.
“We just came out with a dog mentality on defense,” Barnes said. “It’s playoff time, so you’ve got to turn the defense up, dial it up and lock them down. That’s what we did tonight.”
Oak Grove led 27-11 after the first quarter, and never let the Rebels back in the game the rest of the way.
Because of the large margin, the Warriors had the rare luxury of getting their bench some significant minutes in postseason play, and they contributed 27 points.
“Especially when you’re up, you have to keep the bench alive, keep everybody talking and into the game,” Barnes said.
For the game, Oak Grove converted on 27 of 60 shots from the field (45.0 percent), and while the Warriors cooled off some from 3-point range, after making 5 of 9 from downtown in the first quarter, they finished 9 of 25 (36.0 percent) from distance.
The fact that Petal was unable to play, and saw its season come to an abrupt end, drove home what a difficult season it’s been with the COVID-19 pandemic. Staying focused has been a priority for coaches at every school.
“It’s been real emotional for everybody,” Brumfield said. “Sometimes we were going into gyms to get ready for a game to find out we didn’t have a game. Sometimes we were getting on the bus and found out we didn’t have a game.
“But that’s just ups and downs for everybody. You just have to fight through it. You can’t allow it to stop you from working hard, and really putting a lot of things in perspective, to take every game, every practice, and don’t take it for granted.”
Oak Grove has never made it to the Big House – Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson – for a state tournament game. The Warriors fell a game short of the state semifinals last season, and that disappointment is what has motivated them this year.
“Most definitely,” said senior Dylan Brumfield, who is completing a four-year career playing for his father. “We’ve been in the gym every single day trying to get better.”
Thompson added 11 points, Brumfield scored 10 points and P.J. Woodland also had 10 points off the bench for Oak Grove.
Malik Knight had 18 points to lead George County (6-9), which will go on to the first round of the Class 6A State Tournament next week as the region’s third-seeded team.
