Jordan Ben, Neshoba Central rally past Columbus 76-65 in regular-season finale
PHILADELPHIA — Neshoba Central has been a different team on their home court all season.
They proved it again Friday night in the regular-season finale, riding a strong fourth quarter and star Jordan Ben to a 76-65 win over Columbus.
Neshoba Central (15-12) finished the regular season 11-3 at home compared to just 4-9 on the road.
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“One thing we’ve struggled a lot this is year is giving up second-chance points and leaving shooters open too much" Neshoba Central coach Justin Childs said. "But we did a good job of responding in the fourth quarter. There’s something about playing here at home that ignites us, and we made some difficult plays to comeback to take the lead and stretch it out further.”
The Rockets came out firing in the first quarter as Neshoba raced out to a 23-14 lead at the end of the quarter.
The second quarter was more even, and Columbus (17-8) kept chipping into the Neshoba Central lead and trailed by just four at 40-36 at the halftime break.
The Falcons put together a 10-1 run to start the third quarter and took a 45-41 lead with 4:34. They led it 55-54 heading into the fourth.
But Neshoba Central returned to form in the fourth, outscoring Columbus 23-10 down the stretch. The Falcons had stretched their lead to 60-53, but a 16-1 run for the Rockets erased that deficit, and then some.
“We were very balanced tonight offensively and had other guys step up and make some big and timely shots," Childs said. "With this team, we play faster and like to cause turnovers. Now it’s a one-game season with the district tournament, and we've got to go on the road to Callaway and play Callaway. We'll have to be more effective on the defensive end of the floor.”
Ben had 20 points to lead Neshoba Central, while Taeshaun Shoemake added 17 points and Michael Ben chipped in 16 points for the Rockets.
“We did a good job of staying aggressive and knocking down shots. I told coach we weren’t losing at home,” Jordan Ben said. “We're going to take it step by step now to get ready for the district tournament and hopefully make a run.”
Jace O’Neal had a game-high 22 points to lead Columbus, while Jayden Tatum added 17 points for the Falcons.
“We settled a lot with a lot of jump shots and turned the ball over a lot late with guys in certain spots they’re not normally in,” said Columbus coach Phillip Morris. “We didn’t control the paint like we normally do, and they did a good job. Now the real season begins with the district tournament, so we’re back to 0-0 and we got to be ready.”
