Coming into the season South Jones was one of the top teams to watch in Class 5A.

 

It showed on Friday night.

 

Behind a fast start and a balanced offensive attack, along with the play of sophomore Triston Hawthorne, the Braves raced past Northeast Lauderdale 65-47 in a key non-division contest.

 

“I tell our guys all the time we’re going to get everybody’s absolute best shot and Northeast Lauderdale did that, but we wore them down with our defense and our size,” said South Jones coach Rashidi McCormick. “We got some guys that can really play and stepped up big for us.”

 

South Jones never trailed.

 

The Braves raced out to a 18-2 lead to begin the game and eventually held a 20-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.

 

South Jones began the second quarter on an 8-1 run to stretch the lead out to 28-10. The Braves were up 31-16 at halftime.

 

The second half was more back-and-forth, but the South Jones never got below 13 points. The Braves went on a 11-6 run to begin the third quarter to take a 40-21 lead.

 

South Jones held a 52-34 lead at the end of the third quarter. The Braves stretched their lead out to 60-38 to begin the fourth quarter to seal the win.

 

Amarion Young had a game-high 15 points to lead South Jones, while Hawthorne added 13 points and eight block shots for the Braves (12-1).

 

“Amarion stepped up for us. Anytime we needed a basket or a play made he’s the guys that would make it. Ashton and Triston were basically unstoppable. Triston is our anchor on defense. He blocks shots, rebounds and does it all that a big man should do. He is special,” McCormick said. “I preach to move the ball, share the ball, the ball has to have life, and we got to play team ball. Once we share the ball and moving the ball it’s almost impossible to stop us.”

 

Troy Brown had 13 points to lead Northeast Lauderdale (7-5). The Trojans played three games in five days that included a double-overtime win over Neshoba Central on Tuesday and lost to Morton on Thursday night.

 

“They’re a very athletic bunch. We zoned them early and they were able to hit some three’s and they blocked some our shots and that bothered us some,” said Northeast Lauderdale coach Lewis Lightsey. “We struggled in the first but played hard and showed a lot of pride. We got good players too, just didn’t make shots tonight. Playing a team this good and athletic will prepare us for district play.”