Tyler Cleveland, SB Live
Meridian wins MHSAA class 7A Championship with 54-50 win over Clinton
When Meridian’s basketball seniors were freshmen, they came up with a simple breakdown.
"Family on three, Wildcats on six, gold ball on nine."
As of Saturday night, they have a new mantra — "Mission accomplished."
J.R. Yarbrough dropped 25 points, and Meridian held off a furious rally to hold off powerhouse Clinton 54-50 in an instant-classic in the MHSAA Boys Class 7A State Championship at the Mississippi Coliseum.
It’s the Wildcats fourth state title in school history and first since 2017.
“J.R. got out there and got it done," Meridian coach Ron Norman said. "He’s a warrior and gave it all he had. We threw the first punch and kept responding. We’ve been here before and these kids are resilient, and we’re going to enjoy this moment.”
Meridian (24-9) jumped out early as the Wildcats took a 17-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.
After Clinton (23-7) got it to 17-14 at one point in the second quarter, but Meridian knocked down a couple of big shots and stretched its lead out to nine at 29-20 at halftime.
Clinton, the 2021 and 2022 6A State Champion, responded in the third quarter. Zakariyea Hamilton knocked down a couple of three pointers and sparked a 14-5 run to get them back in it. The Arrows eventually tied it up at 34-34 with 1:38 left in the third on a 15-foot jumper from reigning Mr. Basketball Trey Alexander.
The Arrows kept hitting big shots — after Meridian pulled back ahead, Shiloh Freeman made a three-pointer to tie the game at 41-41 with 5:16 left in the fourth, and a Kameron Wilkes lay-up and another mid-range Alexander jumper gave Clinton its largest lead at 45-42.
But Yarbrough wasn't going to let it end like that. The senior scored Meridian’s next six points to give the Wildcats a 49-45 lead with 1:38 remaining.
Clinton got it back to a two-point game twice in the final 90 seconds of the game, but the Wildcats got two clutch free throws from Jordan Jones with 13 seconds left to put it away.
The Meridian Wildcats celebrate with the golden ball after winning the 2024 MHSAA Class 7A Championship with a 54-50 win over the Clinton Arrows on Saturday, March 2, 2024 at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson, Miss.
Tyler Cleveland, SB Live
Yarbrough's 25 points led Meridian, and he was named the game’s most valuable player. D.J. Johnson added 10 points for the Wildcats.
“I came into the game locked in and knowing that my team needed it," Yarbrough said. "We have three key factors on this team, and the rest we are surrounded with pieces to get the job done with us, and we did,” Yarbrough said. “We just didn’t panic throughout the game, and this is a great group."
Alexander had 21 points to lead Clinton, while Kari Hamilton added eight points for the Arrows.
“We started slow," Clinton coach Leonard Taylor said. "But we knew eventually we were going to catch them, and when we had the lead it just seemed like we couldn’t hold onto it. We would turn the ball over, or shots wouldn’t fall. It was just one of those nights where it wasn’t meant to be.”
Taylor, who starts his new job as assistant principal at Clinton High on July 1, is stepping down as basketball coach after this year after leading the program to two state titles.
"I'm definitely going to miss it, man," Taylor said. "You know when you get to be around these young men and you see where a guy is at the beginning of the season, and then see what he becomes by the end of the season, there's not another feeling like it."
