C2D1 BKB: Neelyville to get defensive with Hayti

For anyone curious as to why the Neelyville High School boy’s basketball squad is having its best season in several years, they can simply look at how the Tigers defend on each possession.

Neelyville is limiting its opposition to less than 53 points per game, which is a number not seen by this program since most of the current roster was in elementary school.

“Last year,” Neelyville coach Brad Burdin said, “we had (just) two seniors, one junior, and the rest were sophomores. Some of our (struggles) were because we had so many underclassmen.”

With time comes growth.

The top-seed Tigers (16-10) will face No. 5 seed Hayti (10-15) in the semifinal of the MSHSAA Class 2 District 1 Tournament tonight at 6 p.m. at Holcomb High School. The Indians got past No. 4 seed Bernie 50-39 on Tuesday in their postseason opener.

Burdin’s roster is a year older, though Grant Hale is the lone senior, and the Tigers are playing much better with each passing day.

“Last year,” Burdin explained, “they didn’t work nearly as hard early. They did by the end of the season. They were learning the expectations, and now they meet those daily.”

The Tigers enter their postseason having lost three consecutive games. However, those three losses were to Greenville, Risco, and Woodland, who have a combined 59 wins, AND those losses were by a combined 13 points.

“We played a decently tough schedule early,” Burdin said. “As the middle of our season came along, we started to click better. To end the season the way we have, I couldn’t ask for anything more out of these guys.

“They have really produced for us, and we appreciate them.”

Hayti may see some mixture of man and zone defense tonight, but the focus of the Tiger defense is to keep the Indians in front of them.

“We try to protect the paint as much as possible,” Burdin said. “We try to gameplan and prepare for their personnel. We spend a lot of time on film.”

Burdin is a younger coach, but he is cognizant of the opportunities around him.

“We’ve changed our philosophy (defensively), and some of the things in how we guard,” Burdin explained. “We talk to a lot of the great coaches around here and I try to learn as much as I can from them.”

What he has learned is that there is no substitute for effort.

“We just try to outwork the other team defensively,” Burdin continued. “That is what defense comes down to.”

Burdin has given his players plenty of opportunity to practice what he preaches. Neelyville has played 12 teams this season with a winning record, and he also took his team to a tournament in Arkansas to test them, as well.

“We made a point to go to Arkansas and play some teams that we may never see,” Burdin said. “We played a very good Izard County (Ark.) team. We played Cabool (15-11) early and I consider them to be very good.”

Neelyville also played Hayti in Hayti and came away with a 60-56 win.

“Our kids play hard,” Burdin said. “They show up every day. They are definitely a product of hard work.

“We’re never going to go out and be more skilled than the other team, but we can control the controllables, which are effort and attitude. These kids give 100 percent effort.”

South Pemiscot (13-9) and Campbell (17-8) will battle in the other semifinal at 7:15 p.m.

The Camels topped the host Hornets on Tuesday 68-57 while the Bulldogs, like Neelyville, had a bye.