The gulf between first-place Hinds AHS and second-place St. Aloysius couldn’t have been more stark Friday.
The War Dawgs (19-4, 9-0 Division 7-1A) used an 11-2 run to close out the first half and propel them to a 90-50 rout of St. Aloysius.
The loss will drop the Flashes back in the pack with two division games remaining, but St. Al coach Delvin Thompson believes if his team wins its last two games, both on the road, it’ll be in good shape for the upcoming Division 7-1A Tournament.
“We’ve got to rebound the ball and pick and choose our spots to shoot the ball. We’ve got to execute the offense,” Thompson said. “We’ve got to get the inside game going. We basically have to go on the road Tuesday and Friday and take care of those, but those will bump us back up.”
The Flashes were right in the mix through midway in the first quarter. The War Dawgs expanded their advantage with an 7-0 run to go up 18-8 before Matthew Foley hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to seven.
In the second quarter, the War Dawgs turned the screws up on their press and fed St. Al turnovers into the fires of instant offense. A 6-0 run fueled by the press put Hinds up by 13 points before Luke Eckstein ended a nearly three-minute drought with a baseline layup. Sterling Joiner swished a 3-pointer and Jarius Smith turned a steal into a layup as Hinds jumped out to a 31-15 lead.
Ben Welp cut the lead briefly to 11 with a layup, but it’d be the closest the Flashes would get the rest of the way. The War Dawgs reeled off an 11-2 run to close the quarter and lead 46-25 at the break. From there, Hinds AHS continued to pull away.
“I wasn’t pleased with the way we defended, but I was pleased with the way we rebounded the basketball,” Hinds AHS coach Keith Williams said. “Offensively, we played well. Defensively, we’ve got some work to do. St. Al can shoot the basketball and I told our guys coming in, that we can’t be lazy on defense. We’re the top seed, but I told our guys we haven’t done anything yet. Come tournament time, it’s a new season.”
Welp paced the Flashes (9-12, 4-5) with 20 points. Connor Smith added nine points and Ben Brown added eight.
Smith led six War Dawgs in double figures with 17 points. Juwan Brooks scored 14 points and DeAndre Bolton, LeMartez Brown, Trevarius Draper and LeBarrion Taylor added 10 apiece.

 

(G) Hinds 80, St. Aloysius 51
After a tight first quarter, division-leading Hinds AHS outscored St. Al 21-9 in the decisive second to pull away for the victory.
Julie Mabry led the Lady Flashes (9-11, 4-5) with 17 points, while Avery Parman contributed 15 and Grace Upshaw chipped in 11.
Breanna McCullah led the Lady Dawgs with 20 points. Octavia Barnes and Erica Harris added 14 apiece for Hinds AHS (10-6, 7-0), which also got 12 points from Mykel Evans.