The Muddy River Counselors defeated the Hattiesburg Forerunners 86-73 in Jackson on Tuesday night giving the Counselors a marquee win and continuing a spiraling season for the Hattiesburg Forerunners.
The game began hot, with Chris Purnell of the Counselors hitting a driving layup on the tip. But this was soon followed by a two point finish from Thomas Emmons of the Forerunners. After the first quarter, the Counselors held a narrow 16-14 lead.
In the second quarter, Muddy River began to pull away. Dima Mixon of Hattiesburg attained his fourth foul, putting him on the bench for a significant amount of minutes. Three pointers from Caleb Sanders and Luke Sanders and steady buckets from King Williams helped the Counselors finish the first half with a 38-27 lead.
The Counselors began the second half expanding their lead, pushing it as high as 17. But when Mixon returned, the Forerunners made a push to end the third quarter on a 13-0 run, cutting the score to 58-54.
The Counselors began the fourth quarter with another run. Though having King Williams, Caleb Sanders, and Chris Purnell all with four fouls, they played and expanded the lead. Caleb Sanders began with a pull up 3 up top followed by a Luke Sanders pull up. The Counselors blew the lead back out to 18 behind a high powered offense with Sun Michael Williams racking up 14 assists on the game.
The Counselors kept their foot on the gas until the end, winning 86-73. The Counselors had five players score, and they were all in double figures. King Williams had 22 points, Luke Sanders had 19, Caleb Sanders had 18, Chris Purnell had 17, and Sun Michael Williams had 10. Chris Purnell and Sun Michael Williams each had double-doubles, with Purnell having 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Williams having 10 points and 14 assists.
Both teams had injuries. Harrison Cook has missed the last four games with a shoulder injury. But Joseph Burkell and Michael Barnes went down with injuries for Hattiesburg on Tuesday night. For the Counselors, King Williams had gone down with a foot injury on Jan. 5 against the Flyers, but he was healthy and had a career night. William Leach went down after falling awkwardly on his leg on a chase down block. He is believed to be able to return on Saturday.
The Muddy River Counselors (2-4)[2-3] have taken over the 5-seed in the MSAHA after defeating the Forerunners. They next take the floor when they host the No. 1 seeded PCA Paladins on Saturday.
The Hattiesburg Forerunners (4-7)[3-7] have dropped below the Counselors to the No. 6 seed in the conference. They will take the floor next on Thursday when they host the Scott County Flames.
