Arrows fall short in championship basketball finals, 54-50
By Danny C. Davis
Trey Alexander takes the basketball down the court against Meridian in the Class 7A championship game.
The Clinton Arrow boys basketball team fell just a little short in the Class 7A Championship finals at the Mississippi Coliseum. CHS fell to the Meridian Wildcats in the Class 7A title game
54-50 on March 2 to finish 23-7 on the season. It was a good season for CHS, who was ranked in the polls the entire season and made a strong run at the end.
The Wildcats denied the Arrows of winning their 3rd state basketball championship over the past four years. The loss snapped a great three-game win streak by the Arrows through the playoffs to get to the championship game. CHS defeated Brandon 64-54 just a couple of days earlier to reach the championship game.
The game was the final game for Arrow head coach Lenard Taylor, who led the Arrows to the then-Class 6A championship in 2022. Taylor has accepted the position of assistant principal for Clinton High School for the 2024-2025 school year.
Clinton trailed 15-7 at the end of the first quarter and trailed 29-20 at the half.
Missed free throws and turnovers stopped the Arrows in the first half. CHS was one for eight at the free throw line and shot thirty-eight percent (field goal percentage) in the first half.
But Clinton battled their way back in the third period, outscoring the Wildcats 14-8 to pull with three points at the third period buzzer 37-34 and took a 45-42 lead with three minutes remaining. But CHS could not hold on with the Wildcats, outscoring the Arrows in the final three minutes 12 to 5. Meridian had a 51-47 lead with 1:30 left, and Clinton only scored one three-point bucket by Trey Alexander with 23 seconds left.
Zakarivea Hamilton looks to make a shot against Meridian.
It was too little too late, and Meridian hit their final three free throws to win 54-50.
Clinton shot forty percent for the game, while the Wildcats hit fifty-six percent.
Trey Alexander led the Arrows with 21 points.
“We started off slow, and it was an uphill battle all night,” said Taylor. “Turnovers and missed free throws really hurt us tonight.”
“I am really proud of this group. They fight with everything they’ve got. They fought hard until the end, and we had a chance to win it right up to the end.”
“I will definitely miss coaching, and I love working with kids and see how they improve from the beginning of the season to the end. But I look forward to working in administration at Clinton High School and still working with students and helping them improve every day,” said Taylor, a 1999 Clinton High School graduate.
