Coahoma County High School’s girls and boys basketball teams each won their district tournaments in the identical season for the primary time since 2019-20. The Red Panthers (25-2, 10-0) got here in as the highest seed and took the Region 3-2A tournament with a 59-37 victory against O’Bannon on Thursday and a 58-51 win against North Side on Friday. The Lady Red Panthers (16-12, 7-3) got here into the tournament as third seed, but won the championship with a 31-28 win against No. 2 North Side on Thursday and a 49-28 victory against No. 1 Riverside on Friday.
All Region 3-2A District Tournament games were played at Riverside High School. When the girls and boys won the district tournament three years ago, the Red Panthers earned their third of 4 Class 2A Mississippi High School Activities Association championships in five years. The Lady Red Panthers were the state runner-ups in 2020.
Coahoma County coach Derrick Moore was completely satisfied after the girls and boys clinched the district tournament on Friday. “It’s fulfilling, to be honest with you,” he said. “The girl’s goal was to win the district. Literally, it was our goal, before and through the season, to win that district. The boys, we’ve been leaving that district on the table. We’ve been leaving the district on the table after which losing within the district championship. It felt very fulfilling for each teams.”
Zechari Smith led the Red Panthers with 10 points against O’Bannon, Demarjay Rucker followed with 9, Jerasmus Eagins added 8, Caleb Hearn scored 7, and Kesean Maddox 6 points contributed 6. Camron Bell and Eagins scored 16 points apiece against North Side, while Rucker added 6 points and 5 steals. The Red Panthers led 29-14 at halftime against the Gators on Friday, but they missed 17 free throws and went well below 50% from the road. That allowed North Side to narrow Coahoma County’s lead within the second half.
“I can let you know we went from a 21-point result in they knocked it right down to 4 points because we couldn’t make free throws,” said Moore, adding his team could be working on free throws during practice. The boys lost their first two games of the season, but have won 25 consecutive since and had a first-round bye within the Region 3-2A District Tournament.
“The primary couple games, people don’t know, we didn’t have our guys,” Moore said. “We were still playing football. Once we got all our football players back, we’ve been where we’re presupposed to be.”Moore said the Red Panthers undefeated with a full lineup.
The Red Panthers lost within the 2022 District Tournament championship. That caused them to go on the road within the second round of the playoffs and lose to eventual state champion Pine Grove. “We’ve got pictures within the locker room of the child from Pine Grove staring us down,” said Moore, adding winning this yr’s district tournament was very vital.
Armoni Redmon scored 12 points within the Lady Red Panthers win against North Side, Martia Crawford followed with 6, and Tataria Myles added 5. Crawford put together a double-double with 18 points and 18 rebounds against Riverside, Zanedria Martin also had a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds, while Myles finished with 10 points and a couple of blocks.
The women opened the district tournament with a 29-6 win against Leflore County on Tuesday in a game Moore known as “sloppy,” but he was rather more pleased with their performance Thursday and Friday. “We made more shots,” Moore said. “We literally made more shots. We caught the ball. We laid the ball up. We didn’t turn the ball over as much, and we actually forced more turnovers.” The Lady Red Panthers jumped out to a 14-2 lead at the top of the primary quarter against Riverside. Moore said the short start was a key to the victory.
“It was imperative that we got here out firing on all cylinders,” he said. “Now we have an inclination, if we start slow, it gets in our head, and we don’t play well the rest of the sport.”
The Lady Red Panthers began off the present season with a 2-8 record, but Moore said turnaround got here from “confidence, playing smart on defense, and just with the ability to make timely buckets.” Redmon, Martin, and Calvayuna Johnson are the one three seniors on the Lady Red Panthers.
With a young team, Moore said there could possibly be a shiny future. “The secret is, are they going to take this, construct on it and work over the summer?” Moore said. “That’s been the thing, getting them in over the summer. The fellows will are available and work over the summer, but the women, don’t feel like they need to are available and work through the summer. That’s been the battle for our team.”
The Lady Red Panthers open the playoffs hosting Walnut High School at 6 p.m. Monday, while the Red Panthers host Recent Site at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Each opponents are unfamiliar with Coahoma County. “As I tell girls and boys, it’s not about what the opposite team has, it’s about what you bring to the table,” Moore said. “You come out and be true to what you do, we’re going to be good.”
