Neelyville boys basketball held to 29 points in district championship loss to Thayer

Neelyville's Wyatt Russom (12) holds up the second-place plaque after Thayer won the MSHSAA Class 2 District 2 championship Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, at Van Buren.

DAILY AMERICAN REPUBLIC/Nate Fields

VAN BUREN — Thayer jumped out to an early lead against Neelyville, and after that, it was a patient grind to the finish line.

The top-seeded Bobcats earned a wire-to-wire 37-29 victory over the third-seeded Tigers.

Thayer leaped out to an 11-4 lead early, and despite the Tigers’ best efforts, they could never get over the hump and take the lead in the game.

“We knew the first two or three minutes of the ball game were going to be a factor for us,” Neelyville coach Patrick Morton said. “We really needed to get out to a good start. Obviously, Thayer got out to a little bit of a better start than we did. They’re just so disciplined and fundamental, and they rebound so well.”

Senior Wyatt Russom led Neelyville with 10 points as its only player in double figures, and for a moment it looked like he might help start a comeback effort.

The Tigers (15-11) trailed 33-26 with under two minutes to go in the game when Russom got one of the few clean looks Neelyville had all game. He buried a 3 in the corner with two defenders closing out on him to pull his team within four points.

“We just had to get back on defense, let the crowd feed into us and see what we could do from there,” Russom said.

Rebounding, though, was a bit of a problem for Neelyville throughout the night, and it proved detrimental on the next possession.

Thayer (24-5) missed a shot after getting a contested look at the rim, but Dylan Spencer snatched an offensive rebound and stuck it back for two, extending the Bobcats’ lead back to six with a minute left.

“A big thing for us coming into the game was to focus on blocking out, and I don’t feel like we did a good job of that to start the game,” Morton said. “A lot of their buckets were offensive rebounds and second possessions and things like that. I think we kind of had a little mental lapse there on the blockouts.”

Neelyville assistant coach Aaron Burton, left, consoles senior Wyatt Russom, right, after Russom fouled out in the fourth quarter of the MSHSAA Class 2 District 2 championship Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, against Thayer at Van Buren.

DAILY AMERICAN REPUBLIC/Nate Fields

Neelyville was held scoreless for the rest of the game by Thayer’s defense, which was rotating nearly perfectly in its zone defense throughout the night. Thayer held Neelyville to seven points or fewer in each of the last three quarters, making up for its offense scoring 11 total points in the second and third.

“Thayer, they must’ve scouted us pretty good because they knew exactly what we were going to do,” Russom said. “Knew exactly what our weak points were. They exploited them pretty well, and they’re a pretty great team.”

Despite controlling the pace and flow of the game throughout most of the night, Thayer’s largest lead was 11 points early in the third quarter as the Tigers stayed within striking distance for the majority of the night. They just couldn’t get the key stops and baskets to complete the comeback.

With around two and a half minutes to go in the third quarter, the Bobcats held the ball for around two minutes of game time to milk the clock. As soon as Neelyville started to pressure the ball, Thayer called a timeout to set up a play.

“Just had to stick it out and see what our coaches wanted us to do and just keep playing ball,” Russom said.

Still, the Tigers managed to cut the Bobcats’ lead to five points at the end of the third quarter. With 0.3 seconds left in the third, Parker Jefferies was fouled on a 3-pointer. He knocked down two of the three free throws, but Thayer made a couple of crucial plays to start the fourth.

Neelyville coach Patrick Morton looks up at the scoreboard at the end of the MSHSAA Class 2 District 2 championship against Thayer on Feb. 21, 2019, at Van Buren.

DAILY AMERICAN REPUBLIC/Nate Fields

Sharpshooter Dillon Poulette started the final frame with back-to-back triples, one on the wing and one in the corner, stretching Thayer’s lead back to nine points.

“It all comes down to the defensive end. If you can’t get stops, you can’t win big games,” Morton said. “Thayer, they’re so well-coached. Coach (Matt) Pitts is a phenomenal coach, and their kids execute so well.”

Noah Burton responded with a layup with 5:19 to go, but Neelyville went scoreless for the next 4:09, and it proved to be costly down the stretch.

“Extremely proud of my guys,” Morton said. “They battled and fought and clawed all night long. We just came up short tonight. We also want to make sure we wish Thayer the best of luck moving forward. Neelyville is going to be pulling for them in the playoffs, so hopefully they do well.”

NEELYVILLE (15-11) — Williams 1(0) 2-2 4. Burton 1(0) 0-0 2. Abner 1(0) 0-0 2. Russom 4(2) 0-0 10. West 2(0) 0-0 4. Jefferies 2(1) 2-3 7. Totals: 11(3) 4-5 29.

THAYER (24-5) — Haven 1(0) 0-0 2. Andrews 0(0) 2-2 2. Poulette 3(2) 0-1 8. Hutstedler 4(0) 0-2 8. Stone 5(0) 0-0 10. Spencer 2(0) 3-7 7. Totals: 15(2) 5-12 37.