Despite the national news coverage about the boys basketball coach at Murrah High School, students, players and parents all appeared excited about the season. Going into Monday’s game (Nov. 15), the boys and girls were undefeated with 3 wins and 0 losses. Monday night, the Mustangs hosted Coach Dorsey’s former team, the Yazoo County Panthers. Much to the delight of the Murrah administration, the only thing people talked about was the team’s success on the court. When asked if things were back to normal, one of the administrators said, “Yes, for the most part. It’s been pretty tough lately.”
Naturally, the parents are happy that the situation has settled down. “We just want happy kids playing basketball”, said a Murrah parent.
The lady Mustangs jumped out to an early double digit lead against the lady Panthers. Murrah’s defense and foul trouble hampered the lady Panthers in the first half. In the second half Yazoo County mounted a comeback and took a slight lead into the fourth quarter. Behind the play of their versatile guard Kalisha Washington, the lady Mustangs rallied back for a 41 to 32 victory. Murrah’s girls improved to 4 and 0. Washington had several key drives that fueled the rally. When told that the game got too close, Washington smiled and said “I know.”
In the battle of previously coached Dorsey teams, Yazoo County jumped out early in the first quarter. Murrah came out aggressive, but were missing shots. The Mustangs’ defense kept them in the game. Then both offenses went cold. Pass, pass, pass, missed shot, was the way the first half was played. Although the teams were cold, the action was relatively fast paced. If you closed your eyes, you would think that the teams were scoring at will. Constant shoe squeaking from stopping, starting, pivoting, and from landing was constant. Murrah managed to lead at the half 18 to 16.
Yazoo County made a conscious effort to get the ball in the paint in the second half. Penetration by Deandre Scott and Lee Williams sent the Panthers to the free throw frequently. The Panthers went up by 8 points with 4 minutes and 33 seconds left in the game. Murrah’s fans and cheerleaders turned up the volume. Chanting “D-fense” repeatedly, the fans kept encouraging the guys. Acting basketball coach David Deville turned up the Mustangs’ defensive intensity. Murrah’s full court press started to bother Yazoo County forcing turnovers. Murrah cut the lead to three. In the last 45 seconds, the Mustangs cut the lead to 2, but Yazoo County hit clutch free throws to push the lead back to four. Murrah’s half court shot went in at the buzzer, but it wasn’t enough.
The Mustangs lost 45 to 44, dropping them to 3 and 1 in the season.
The Mustangs travel to Yazoo City Thursday (Nov. 18) to play the Indians.
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