Quitman's CJ Keys posts up with a Kemper County defender a game during the Sam Dale Tournament Dec. 27, 2019 at Southeast Lauderdale High School.

On the first day of the annual Sam Dale Tournament at Southeast Lauderdale, CJ Keys made his presence known.

The Quitman junior kept putting up shots in the Panthers’ first-round matchup with Kemper County — and kept knocking them — as both teams whisked past each other over and over all evening, scoring point after point. 

Keys finished the game with 47 points as Quitman defeated Kemper County 98-88. He nearly collected a triple-double the next day, earning 18 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, as the Panthers went on to capture the Sam Dale Tournament championship in a victory over Southeast.

“That kid is a special player. A special talent,” Quitman head coach Chris Coleman said after beating the Wildcats. “I’ve coached some good kids, but he’s right there in the upper echelon of the most talented guys I’ve ever coached.” 

Keys’ performance, which included plenty of inside and outside game as well as free-throw efficiency, was needed to hold off the Wildcats as they kept scoring buckets. His 12 first-quarter points helped the Panthers build just a 27-24 advantage heading into the second. 

Kemper County pulled ahead early in the frame, but after two 3-pointers from Keys, Quitman was back in the lead. The Panthers led 51-47 at halftime, at which Keys was already up to 23 points. 

The third quarter proved to be Keys’ best as the 6-foot-4 small forward scored eight points on his squad’s 10-0 run to stretch their lead to 15, and tallied 16 in the frame. The Wildcats trimmed their deficit to single digits in the fourth quarter, but a 3 from Keys and free throws down the stretch sealed the 10-point win for Quitman. 

Keys ended the night with eight made shots in the paint and four from beyond the arc. He also converted 15 of 23 free throws. 

“My coach said this would be a great chance for me to find a way to score, and it was,” Keys said after the game. “We’re not used to playing this fast; we’ve been playing low-scoring games, but we did what we had to do.”

The drama of Keys’ performance was coupled with four players reaching double-digit scoring for Kemper County, whose coach was also ejected in the third quarter after receiving a second technical foul for arguing with officials. The Panthers finished the season 22-9 and reached the second round of the MHSAA Class 3A state tournament. 

Keys completed his junior season averaging 24 points, 8.5 rebounds, four assists, 2.5 steals and 2.5 blocks per game. He was named Region 5-4A Offensive Player of the Year, as well as The Meridian Star’s Premier Preps Boys Basketball Player of the Year. He helped lead the Wildcats to a 25-7 year and a quarterfinal appearance in the MHSAA Class 4A state tournament.