The Meridian Flyers defeated the Hattiesburg Forerunners 53-44 in the first round of the MSAHA Playoffs to give Hattiesburg a loss and advance to take on the #1 PCA Paladins.
The game started in an odd way with senior guard Dylan Archie scoring a layup on the wrong basket, spotting the Forerunners two points. After that, the Flyers took a 7-2 lead over the Forerunners.
But Hattiesburg fought back. Behind a stifling defense that bothered senior forward Nate Sherman, forcing him to turn the ball over. They also were stealing the ball from Flyers big man Isaiah Davis every time he put the ball on the floor. But on the offensive end, Harison Cook and Dima Mixon were playing lights out for the Forerunners, and Hattiesburg had a lead that blew out to 12, at 25-13.
Then Forerunners guard Bradley Kelly began to bleed from his nose. This caused him to miss the rest of the first half to stop the bleeding. This proved to be a turning point for the Flyers. That and the fact that Isaiah Brown began to not take the unnecessary dribble and just put the ball in the hole after being told by Coach Rasberry. By halftime, Hattiesburg’s lead was all but gone, 31-29.
In the third quarter, it was tit for tat. It was close throughout the quarter, but the Flyers gained taking the lead at the end of three, 41-40.
In the fourth quarter, the Flyers began to pull away. The Forerunners began to run out of gas and they started missing shots. Meanwhile, Eliot Tulip hit two three pointers in a row along with big buckets at the basket from Isaiah Davis which blew the lead out to 11, 53-42, going on a 12-2 run. The Forerunners were unable to recover and the Flyers took the win 53-44.
The #4 Meridian Flyers will advance to face the #1 PCA Paladins on Feb. 9 with a chance to earn their first ever berth to the MSAHA Finals.
The #5 Hattiesburg Forerunners will face the loser of the #1 PCA/#4 Meridian game on Feb. 11.
