JACKSON – Despite the ending of Hattiesburg’s season, Ernie Watson walked away from the state semifinals feeling optimistic.
With his young team trailing by 12 points midway through the fourth quarter, the Tigers showed late right pulled a late run to cut game down by three with 30 seconds left.
However, Olive Branch showcased why it was the defending state championship and ended Hattiesburg’s late rally by pulling away with a 64-57 win in Mississippi Coliseum on Thursday.
“They have a lot of heart and a lot of fight in them,” Hattiesburg coach Ernie Watson said. “They are Burg Built. That’s what we do when we are down in adverse situations. We tried to fight back but we couldn’t overcome their goodness.
“(Olive Branch is a) pretty good team and the defending state champions. They are going to win it.”
Yet the reason for Watson’s optimism is that his team will graduate just one starting senior and return his top scorer and rebounder Ethan Long for next season.
“We are looking forward to him being the leader next year to really step up his game and take us to another level,” Long said. “It’ll be his team next year.
“It’s still young, and we’re growing. This place here is intimidating. We shot it well, I thought, in the first half of the game. We just gave up too many easy baskets.”
Hattiesburg held a 15-14 lead by the end of the first quarter, but Olive Branch (25-7) outscored the Tigers 15-7 to take a 29-22 pull ahead 29-22 at halftime.
“We couldn’t give up the easy baskets,” Watson said. “That was the plan going in to get offensive rebounds and not give up easy baskets. Their athleticism and quickness are good. We just couldn’t match them going down the floor. That was the first time a team ran on us like that.
“We gave up 10 or 12 layups. You just can’t play like that.”
Olive Branch’s early success stemmed from stopping Long, who was held to just four points in the first half.
“They doubled team him, and we told him they were going to do that,” Watson said. “He just has to step through it and learn how to play through it. It’s just hit the open man, and trust the fundamentals. Once he learns that, he’ll be a beast next year. We are looking forward to that growth spurt.”
However Long scored 15 points in the second half, most of which came in the fourth quarter during the Tigers’ final run. James Griffin added 18 points and Tristen Keys put up 13 points.
“I knew my team needed me,” Long said. “I knew I couldn’t be stagnant anymore.
“The season didn’t end how we wanted it to end, but we believed in ourselves and knew we were capable of getting here when most people didn’t. We have heart. We knew the game wasn’t over. We were just fighting and trying to get back in.”
Hattiesburg ends the season with a 23-9 mark.
“We have to get back to the drawing board and try and do this again next year,” Watson said. “We are excited about the future, so hopefully, we can build off this season and have a better one next year.”
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