D’IBERVILLE — The Ocean Springs Greyhounds were smoking hot from 3-point land and the free throw line Tuesday night as they trounced St. Patrick 86-51 on the second day of the D’Iberville Thanksgiving basketball tournament.
The ‘Hounds buried 12 3-pointers and canned 22 of 27 free throws en route to their second tournament victory in two days. Monday night coach Colin Goley’s squad toppled Tupelo 73-59.
The win Tuesday night pushes the Greyhounds’ record to 4-2 with their next game coming against Port Gibson on Saturday in Lyman.
Goley had no explanation for the Greyhounds’ hot 3-point shooting, but he liked what he saw.
“I don’t think we’ve made more than 12 (in a game) this year,” he said. “We shot it really well. Not sure how many we made.”
Goley praised the performance of senior Kaleb Bradley, who scored 19 points to tie for team-high with junior Maddox Noblitt. Bradley made a pair of 3-pointers and 6 of 7 free throws in addition to drawing several charges and making numerous steals.
“I’ve got to give a shoutout to Caleb Bradley,” Goley said. “He was unbelievable on both sides of the floor tonight … defensively, drawing charges, getting steals. He was huge for us in the first half with a couple of our guys in foul trouble.”
St. Patrick jumped out to a 7-0 first-quarter lead and seemed to have the Greyhounds reeling before Noblitt scored 10 points, including eight in a row, to put the ‘Hounds ahead for good at 16-12. Noblitt scored 12 of his 19 points in the period.
Ocean Springs’s aggressive man-to-man defense and superior rebounding began to take a toll on the Fighting Irish in the second quarter, holding them to just 7 points en route to a commanding 46-24 lead.
Ocean Springs continued to stretch its lead in the third quarter and Goley was able to empty the bench late in the quarter and in the final period.
Goley said he feels good about how his team is playing at this point in the season.
“Yesterday’s win against Tupelo was a really good for us against a really good team,” Goley said. “St. Patrick’s is solid as well. Matt Krass is one of the best players in the state.
“We’ve put 2 solid wins together going into the break. I’m happy with the way things are trending right now.”
Elijah Isom rounded out the double-digit scoring for Ocean Springs with 15 points.
Jack Hewes led three Irish players in double figures with 15 points. Brendon Moton added 14, and Matt Krass, who was hampered by foul trouble, finished with 11 points. The Irish record drops to 3-3.
On Monday night, the Greyhounds picked up a 73-59 win over Tupelo. The Greyhounds got a big game from their dynamic one-two punch of Maddox Noblitt and Elijah Isom in the win over the Golden Wave, as Noblitt poured in a game-high 29 points including four 3-pointers and Isom added 19 points to the winning cause. The combo combined for 21 points in a 26-point second stanza for OSHS as the Greyhounds outscored Tupelo 26-15 in that period to take control of the game and head into halftime with a 41-28 lead. Kaleb Bradley added 12 points for OSHS in the winning effort, with eight of those coming in the fourth frame when he sank six free throws to help keep the Golden Wave at bay.
The Fighting Irish were coming off a 66-42 loss on Monday night as well on the road in Carriere to home-standing Pearl River Central.
