By T. Scott Boatright
Simsboro High School started strong before Quitman pulled away for a 88-76 win over the Tigers inside the SHS Gym Friday night.
The Tigers opened scoring on a Justin Terrell layup 1:03 into the contest but Quitman countered with five straight points before Terrell’s second layup at the 4:56 mark of the opening stanza cut the Quitman lead to 5-4.
Mike Smith’s short jumper on a pass from T.J. Holland put the Tigers on top 13-7 with 3:03 left in the quarter before Quitman called a timeout to slow things down, and by the end of the period Simsboro only led 18-16.
Quitman regained the lead 23-22 with 6:23 left in the first half and the teams traded blows the remainder of the second quarter, with Simsboro’s four-point advantage at 34-40 with 3:40 remaining before halftime being the biggest lead the rest of the way with the teams headed into the locker rooms at intermission with Simsboro on top 43-42.
But Quitman countered with a 7-0 run to start the third quarter before Simsboro finally lit up the scoreboard 3:58 into the stanza on a pair of Ahmad Smith free throws to cut the Wolverines’ lead to 50-45.
While junior guard Tayden Thonas led the Wolverines with 23 points, SHS coach Adam Wodach said it was Quitman senior point guard Bray Smith, who totaled 17 points, was the biggest challenge for his Tigers.
“The third quarter has kind of bit us in the butt all year,” Wodach said. “I would say we were playing too slow in the first half. But it’s been a really long season and we’ve got some heavy legs, so it’s kind of tough there, too.
“They executed on offense so well. That No. 1 (Smith) is so tough. He’s tough to guard.”
By the end of the third quarter, Quitman was on top 66-59 and the Tigers could get no closer than five points back the rest of the way.
“They got some easy baskets off the offensive glass. I think they had more shots than us but we had a better shooting percentage,” Wodach said. “We executed well offensively. We got some great looks. The problem was that in key moments, we missed some open layups and we got tired.”
Ahmad Smith led Simsboro with 28 points while Mike Smith added 21.
Amaren Woodard added 20 points for the Tigers while Terrel chipped in with six and Landry Roberts and JoJo Smith each scored four and Holland totaled three to round out Simsboro scoring.
Brayden Martin added 15 points for the Wolverines, who also got 14 from Asher Shultz.
“We’ve just got to keep on fighting,” Wodach said. “And this team is doing that. But we just have to keep fighting. We’re young. I’m proud of them. We just need to figure out how to come out after halftime and play better in the third quarter. It’s when we come out and then fall behind after intermission that is maybe our biggest issue right now.”
