Greenville Christian School’s DJ Smith and Daishun Scott were almost unstoppable Wednesday, exactly when their teammates needed them to be.
A few days after winning the MAIS Class 3A State Championship, the GCS boys basketball team was in action again on Wednesday and defeated visiting Hillcrest Christian 81-62 victory in the opening round of the MAIS Overall Basketball Tournament.
The Saints opened the game slow and a little sloppy, allowing Hillcrest Christian to open the game on an 18-8 run.
Then Smith and Scott took over and the Saints started playing like themselves. Smith led the way by scoring 46 points. He scored 10 in the first quarter, 11 in the second quarter, 10 in the third quarter and 15 in the fourth.
“We came out slow and they were playing with fire,” Smith said. “It was just a little adversity thing for us. We got over it, and now we are on to the next game. The only thing on my mind is to win the whole thing. Last year, it got by us by a hair but this year.”
The Saints, as Smith alluded to, are hoping for a shot of redemption at the MAIS Overall Basketball Tournament. Last season, they let lost in heartbreaking fashion to Madison-Ridgeland Academy in overtime of the Overall championship game.
GCS’ next game in the overall tournament will be against Starkville Academy on Saturday in the quarterfinals. Saturday’s quarterfinal matchup will take place at 4 p.m. at Greenville Christian. Both the semifinals and the finals of the Overall Tournament will take play at Mississippi College. The semifinals are scheduled for Monday, Feb. 28. The finals are set for Wednesday, March 2.
While Smith was the Saints main scorer in Wednesday’s victory, it was Daishun Scott who, along with Smith, helped GCS own the inside block. Scott scored 16 points and grabbed a number of key rebounds.
“Daishun and DJ were beasts inside,” Greenville Christian coach Logan Collins said. “We put up 85 points but only hit two threes so that tells you what type of game those two had.”
“DJ is one heck of a competitor. He wants to win whether it is a shooting drill in practice or a basketball game. He is going to do whatever it takes to win and he proved that tonight.
GCS’ Josiah Claiborne added 11 points in the Saints’ victory.
Hillcrest Christian’s Ricardo Whitelow led his team with 24 points, including 10 points in the first quarter to help Hillcrest get out to an early lead.
Said Collins, “I don’t think we overlooked them. It was more about us coming out a little laid back. We didn’t have the chip on a shoulder that we usually do. We may be coming off a little high from winning the state championship, but we are definitely ready to roll now.”
