C3D1: White’s big first quarter, Still’s inside strength carry Kelly to win over NMCC

BENTON, Mo. — Truman White isn’t known for taking over games, but on the biggest stage of the season, he did just that.

White, known for setting up teammates rather than hunting his shot, attacked early, shifting the momentum as Kelly won 80-67 over defending state champion New Madrid County Central in the opening round of the MSHSAA Class 3 District 1 Tournament at Kelly High School on Monday, Feb. 24.

“That was an incredible spark for us because that was not something that we have had all year long,” said Kelly coach Noel Trimmer. “NMCC did its best to take him out of the game after the first quarter, but he was still making good basketball plays and finding his teammates.

“He had an outstanding game. I honestly believe it was the best game of his career, and he picked a great time to do it.”

When a team runs an aggressive man-to-man defense, it doesn’t take long to figure out if you can take your matchup. White needed just one possession. He broke down his defender early, got to the rim, and immediately looked to the sideline.

“I got him,” he told Trimmer.

The response?

“Go for it. Break that kid down every single time.”

And that’s exactly what he did. White put the ball on the floor and attacked, hitting shots the Eagles (5-15, 0-6 SEMO) weren’t expecting him to take.

“I’m sure from scouting and watching film, they didn’t see that out of him,” Trimmer said. “They probably thought he was just a distributor, not someone they had to worry about.”

White changed that perception fast. He kept finding angles, finishing at the rim, and forcing NMCC to adjust.

“Dribble, drive, score—he did all of it,” Trimmer said. “And once he got going, NMCC had to respect him, which opened everything up for his teammates.”

The senior point guard averages just five points a night, but he was halfway there in a flash and had nine by the end of the first quarter.

It was clear the Hawks’ strategy was to attack the Eagles’ size advantage inside.

After Kelly’s first 10 points came inside, White turned playmaker, finding Grady Hall for a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 13-5.

White then capped off the strong quarter with a 3-point play after finishing a give-and-go and absorbing contact, pushing the lead to 15 with 39.3 seconds left in the opening frame.

“We were undersized against a much bigger team, a much stronger team,” Trimmer said. “We tried to take away their bigs as much as possible but that was really hard because they could go up and get it.”

Trimmer also acknowledged the strength of his team's perimeter defense, as the Eagles were limited to just three made shots from long range.

“Our game plan was to sink and crowd the middle,” he continued. “We tried to deny the post the best we could and check shooters if we could get to them, and if we couldn’t, then we lived with the outcome. For the majority of the night, that worked out perfectly.”

But NMCC’s senior duo of Ra'Mond Brooks and Marvion Cranford weren’t about to let things get out of hand.

Each hit a basket in the final minutes of the quarter, trimming the lead to 20-9. Despite Brooks' monstrous performance—finishing with 21 points and 20 rebounds—he was left to carry the load as the Eagles struggled to find consistent support.

While NMCC has some promising young talent, it will take time for them to fully develop. Freshman Jayden Williams showed glimpses of that potential, scoring a couple of key baskets to cut the lead to single digits at 28-19 midway through the second quarter. Williams was the team's only other player to reach double digits, finishing with 16.

Kelly responded with a pair of key plays—Grady Hall stole a pass and dunked it, and Ross Peters followed with another takeaway and score in transition, pushing the lead to 32-21.

The Eagles kept battling, though, with Brooks using the glass and Williams stealing a couple of passes, one of which he finished with a transition bucket and another that sent him to the free-throw line, helping trim the deficit to 34-29 at halftime.

Coming out of halftime, Kelly’s inside game was on point, with senior Skyler Still, who’s signed to throw the javelin at SEMO, converting three quick scores in the paint.

The Hawks also knocked down a couple of 3-pointers, with junior Preston Appleton and senior Hunter Kirk each hitting one, Kirk’s making it 46-35.

The game remained tight as Peters and Williams exchanged baskets, but NMCC’s JG Harris provided a spark, stealing the ball and converting a layup to cut the lead to 46-38.

Still quickly responded with another contested finish inside, but Harris answered with a 3-pointer, and 6-5 freshman Issiac Smith made his presence felt with a couple of key offensive rebounds, trimming the lead to 59-53 as the third quarter came to a close.

Eagles freshman Tyce Palmer hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 65-58, but Peters quickly scored, followed by a two-handed dunk from Grady Hall over a taller defender, putting the Hawks back in control.

“He can throw it down easy,” Trimmer said. “The slam was him trying to make a statement. I always get nervous because what if he gets undercut? I don’t have anyone that can replace him. But I don’t want to tell him to not go hard to basket because him doing that adds another dimension to our team. He had an exceptional game tonight.”

On Kelly's next possession, White drove to the basket and, while a bit out of control, managed to spin in mid-air and assist Still for an easy inside score. Still, who finished with a game-high 23 points, added another basket inside to push the lead to 15 with just over four minutes left.

“Not only did he have a great scoring night, but he had a great game rebounding and passing,” Trimmer said. “He made some great backdoor passes. The great thing about playing a super-aggressive team is that you can take them out and then beat them back door. That’s what we were trying to do. All of our offense was geared to go at the basket.”

The Eagles narrowed the lead to 74-67 with 1:42 remaining after another steal and score by Harris and a couple of offensive rebounds and putbacks by Brooks.

Kelly maintained its aggressive offensive approach, refusing to stall or settle into a passive, clock-killing strategy.

Instead, the Hawks stuck to the original game plan, sealing the victory with three consecutive inside buckets to close out the game.

“Defensively, I thought we played great all night,” Trimmer said. “We had some moments on offense where we made some mistakes and we’re still trying to iron that out. If we can tidy up the offense then we’ll be in great shape, but I can’t ask for a better performance on defense.”

Despite the victory, Kelly had some areas to improve. The Hawks struggled at the free-throw line, missing 15 attempts, 12 of which came in the first half. Additionally, they committed 18 turnovers.

“We had a lot of great drives to the basket and got fouled,” Trimmer said. “But then we went to the free throw line and got blanked. That makes it hard to win, but we weathered that storm, and the big thing we got out of that was getting their bigs in foul trouble.”

With an impressive 56 percent shooting performance and a lock-down defensive effort that held the Eagles to just 35 percent from the field, Kelly clinched its second straight win and fifth in the last six games.

Peters finished with 18 points, Hall had 12, and White, who sparked the team early, finished with 10.

“Our kids have underrated passing skills and all showed that tonight,” Trimmer said. “They all passed it unselfishly and we had five in double digits tonight, which is something we have been striving for all year. The unselfishness of each individual finally showed and gave us what we needed.”

Griffin Pass played with that up-and-down energy Trimmer has come to expect, finishing with 11 points and staying active in every phase of the game.

“He’s such an incredibly emotional player,” Trimmer said. “One minute he’s on a high because he’s rebounding and scoring, and the next minute he’s on an incredible low because he thinks he just took a charge and they called a block. It’s an emotional rollercoaster every game, but I love the kid because he plays as hard as anyone. He brings it every day and plays with his heart on his sleeve.”

NMCC closed the season on a four-game losing streak, though its final record could have been different if a few games hadn’t been canceled due to snow.

This marked the Eagles' first losing season since 2019, and their fewest wins in a season since 2011.

Kelly will face top-seeded Caruthersville (13-9, 4-1 Bootheel) on Wednesday at 6 p.m., a rematch of a Dec. 10 showdown in which the Hawks fell 66-60.

That game remains one of the team’s best performances of the season, but it wasn’t enough against a team that’s only improved since.

The Tigers boast a solid interior game, and their guards not only handle the ball well but also shoot efficiently and avoid turnovers. To have a chance, Kelly needs to take care of the basketball and ensure there are no wasted shots.

“When you look at both teams on paper, they’re clearly the better team,” Trimmer concluded. “But we’re playing them at home and know the formula it’s going to take. Now it’s just a matter of execution.”

__KELLY 80, NMCC 67__

Kelly 20 14 25 21 — 80

NMCC 9 20 24 14 — 67

Kelly (80) — Skyler Still 23, Ross Peters 18, Grady Hall 12, Griffin Pass 11, Truman White 10, Hunter Kirk 3, Preston Appleton 3. FG: 31. FT: 15-31. F: 14. (3-pointers: Appleton 1, Hall 1, Kirk 1. Fouled out: None).

NMCC (67) — Ra’Mond Brooks 21, Jayden Williams 16, Marvion Cranford 8, JG Harris 7, Tyce Palmer 6, Ja’Kwon Jones 5, Issiac Smith 4. FG: 28, FT: 8-13. F: 23. (3-pointers: Palmer 2, Harris 1. Fouled out: Smith).