Emotions overflow as Pascagoula captures first MHSAA basketball state championship
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"Amazing," Pascagoula basketball coach Lorenzo Wright said.
How would one describe a program's first state title ever? Pascagoula had trouble finding the words.
Junior guard Alex Griffin said history has been made.
An emotional Jackson State signee, Blake Nettles, knows that he and his teammates' names will go down in the school's history books.
The Panthers' 56-54 win over Terry (25-9) in the MHSAA 6A championship game at Mississippi Coliseum on March 5 claimed the program's first crown.
"A lot of practice, a lot of sweat, man, a lot of hard practices, hard days (that go into it)," Griffin said. "I didn't want to practice at all this week, but we had to go get that win."
The journey wasn't easy. Pascagoula (27-6) suffered two semifinal losses in the past two seasons. Nettles, Mr. 6A Basketball winner, was not 100% healthy after nursing a right ankle injury for a few games including the title game. It was a back-and-forth championship night where multiple lead changes occurred until the buzzer sounded.
"This wasn't the best team," Wright said. "I think the best teams, again, were with Dorian (McMillian). Dorian's senior year, Kelan Rich last year, but this team was different. I mean, they just fought. They came together, they jelled at the right time."
Griffin had to anxiously watch the final minutes on the sideline after fouling out. When Pascagoula took a 53-52 lead with a minute left, he knew his team wouldn't surrender it.
"I never lost faith, man," said Griffin, who had a team-high 15 points and won game MVP. "My guys got me. My brother (Jacob Griffin) took a cut from me, man. That's just heart. My guys, they played hard. We just had to take over. In these situations, they count on us."
Wright said losing Nettles for most of the game hurt, but he knew his role players had played key minutes earlier in the year.
Wright lauded Nettles for his drive to play throughout the playoffs, including scoring a layup to give the Panthers the lead with under a minute left.
"He's been bound to an ankle injury all year," Wright said. "For him to come in and play the minutes he played (was huge). He was big in the win over Jim Hill. He was big again for us tonight."
Terry gaurd Keshawn Jones led with 14 points.
Michael Chavez covers high school sports, among others, for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] or reach out to him on X, formerly Twitter @MikeSChavez.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Pascagoula boys claim first MHSAA basketball state championship