Tied at 70-70 with 11 seconds remaining, the Greenville Hornets got the ball into senior captain Morgan Green’s hands and let him make a play.
Morgan dribbled the ball up the court, faked like he was going to the rim, and then threw a perfect pass to junior Jequann Roberson. Roberson jumped, caught the ball near the basket, and laid it in over a Desoto Central defender as the final second went off the clock.
Roberson and Green then raced to mid-court to embrace with their fellow teammates in a huge embrace.
Greenville’s 72-70 home victory over Desoto Central Tuesday night advanced the Hornets into the second round of the MHSAA Class 6A state playoffs. Greenville (13-12) will travel to Southaven for a 6 p.m. tip on Saturday in the next round of the playoffs.
“I actually wanted Morgan to take the ball to the basket, but he improvised and made a great pass to Jequann,” Greenville coach Delmar Sprouse said. “It does not surprise me that he made such a great play because he is our leader.”
In a game of huge swings, the Hornets saw themselves facing an eight-point deficit with four minutes left in the game, but this group of Greenville young men never lost their composure as they slowly worked their way back into the game in the final few minutes. Green, junior Dekobe Lewis and sophomore Aaron Davenport made three consecutive three-point plays to get the Hornets to within three points with three minutes left in the game. A massive block by Lewis then set up Green’s layup which tied the game up at 68-68 with two minutes remaining. Lewis, then, made a steal which set up another Morgan Green basket to put the Hornets up 70-68 with 1:40 left on the clock.
Greenville’s Roberson finally made an emphatic block to set up the Hornet’s final game-winning shot.
Coach Sprouse said Lewis has been playing great defense for the Hornets all season. Lewis scored 12 points in the game and combined with Roberson and junior Kentrell Carter for eight blocks in the game.
Roberson scored 24 points and added six rebounds to lead the Hornets. Green scored 21 points with seven assists, and sophomore Aaron Davenport scored nine.
Greenville jumped out to an early 10-3 lead in the game, but the Jaguars (11-18) came back to tie it at 15-15 by the end of the first quarter.
In the third quarter, back-to-back baskets by Green helped the Hornets build their lead to eight points at 48-40, but Desoto Central stormed back to take the lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
“This win was so important to us,” Coach Sprouse said. “I am not sure if I have had a bigger when since I have been here. We have struggled at home for most of the season, so it was great to have such a big win to celebrate with our fans.”
