The Fighting Irish’s basketball season came to an end Saturday with a 78-56 loss to Madison-Ridgeland Academy in the quarterfinal round of the MAIS Overall Basketball Tournament.
Minutes after the game St. Joseph coach James Hunter was already putting things in perspective. The Irish had, after all, won the Class 4A State Championship just a week earlier. St. Joseph finished with a 21-3 record, the best in school history.
“I told them that they were already champions, and everything past that was icing on the cake,” Hunter said. “We got to host one of the best teams in the state today in MRA and that is something we don’t usually get to do.”
The Patriots from Madison-Ridgeland, a Class 6A school, jumped out early on the Irish. MRA, which was paced by the 27 points of Harrison Alexander, opened the game on a 16-2 run, forcing the Irish to play catch-up the rest of the way.
“In the first quarter, we couldn’t get anything to fall no matter what we did, but we kept fighting back. I was proud of them, especially how they played in the third quarter.”
CJ Moore led St. Joe with 24 points. Jerrian King scored 16 points, and Donnie Smith scored eight points.
Coach Hunter noted that the future looks bright for his program with Moore, King and Smith being juniors. But he was sad to say goodbye to the four seniors on his team in Jamal Bryant, Dillan Reed, Jordan Jennings and Van Lockett.
Coach Hunter also wanted to thank all the St. Joseph fans who came out Saturday to support his state championship team.
“That was a great atmosphere,” he said. “It was better than it has ever been. It means a lot to me, especially the student body and everybody who came out to support us.”
MRA head coach Richard Duease said he was impressed with how hard the Fighting Irish played.
“I thought St. Joe played hard and never quit,” Duease said. “That is all the coach can ask for, regardless of winning or losing.
On Monday, MRA fell to Jackson Academy 49-45 in the MAIS Overall Semifinals at Mississippi College.
