South Pemiscot holds off similar foe in battle of ranked, young teams

South Pemiscot High School sophomore guard Ty'Riquis Campbell (0) battles for a rebound amid Hayti athletes on Tuesday at Hayti High School.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

HAYTI – When the South Pemiscot High School varsity boy’s basketball squad visited Hayti on Tuesday, in many ways, it was like looking in the mirror.

Both teams are young, if not inexperienced, and both groups unleash a flurry of frenetic energy at both ends of the floor.

“It ain’t easy,” fifth-year Bulldog coach Jordan McGowan said of battling Hayti and its pace of play. “Because that is what we try to do.”

In the end, South Pemiscot survived the pressure of battling the Indians – at both ends of the court – and prevailed 66-61. The victory was the first by South Pemiscot at Hayti since December 2015.

“When you are trying to go polar opposite,” McGowan continued on the styles of play, “it doesn’t work sometimes.”

It did on Tuesday.

The Bulldogs (6-1) hit 8 of 11 free throws in the final quarter to seal the victory.

“We try to push the pace,” first-year Hayti coach Donald Webb said of his team. “That is our style of ball.”

The two teams swarmed each other throughout the game defensively, with much of the Indians’ pressure coming within the half-court, not necessarily the length of the court.

“We play fast and fast-paced,” Webb continued. “We kind of slowed it down in the first half and played some zone, which was our first time playing some zone (this year).”

South Pemiscot, which is ranked ninth in Class 2, built a 27-21 advantage by halftime, but the game went back and forth until the final buzzer.

“Luckily,” McGowan explained, “I have been with this group for five years and we have made some adjustments when it comes to this type of play in this (Bootheel Conference) because Hayti isn’t the only ones who play that way.”

The Indians (8-2), who are ranked 11th in Class 2, did a great job in limiting South Pemiscot junior point guard Robert Farmer III to just one field goal, however, Farmer III did his damage in finding open teammates, and more critically, sinking all six of his free throw attempts, including four in the fourth period.

South Pemiscot, which utilized the only senior (guard Torrell Boyd) in the game, was paced by sophomore Ty’Riquis Campbell, who had 19 points.

Boyd added 17 points while junior Jaterion Smith (10 points), Farmer III (eight points), and sophomore Damarius Mayberry (eight points) also contributed.

Hayti, which doesn’t have a senior on its roster, was led by junior J’Vonta Payne with 17 points while sophomores Nicolia Sohahong-Kombet (16 points), Tameryn Turner (eight points), and Jahiem Dunn (eight points) also were productive.

Tuesday’s test may ultimately be the first of three meetings between these teams, as they may play again in the league tournament, as well as the MSHSAA Class 2 District 1 Tournament in March.

“We tried to switch our defense up a little bit,” Webb explained. “I know that we will see them again in conference play and Districts, so we tried not to show (everything).”

The Indians will visit Malden (0-11) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

South Pemiscot will host Caruthersville (6-7) today at 7:30 p.m.