3 takeaways from the Memphis East Mustangs’ win over Center Hill

<p><span style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Memphis East head coach Javonte Holmes mentioned to me after the Mustangs’ 65-51 win over Center Hill that his team didn’t play well.</span></p> <p>It honestly didn’t matter with the way junior guard <b>Tadarius</b> <b>Jacobs</b> was scoring the basketball Monday night in a gym Mustangs head coach Newton Mealer hardly loses in.</p> <p>Jacobs had the game-high 31 points to lead his team to another big victory. Every shot Jacobs took was a great shot. He didn’t force any of his shots. And that’s why the offense ran through him most of the night.</p> <p>It didn’t matter who guarded Jacobs. He took what the offense gave him and made Center Hill pay with one dagger after another.</p> <p>Here are 3 takeaways from Memphis East’s win over Center Hill:</p> <p><strong>Memphis East’s guards played better than Center Hill’s guards</strong></p> <p>The guards for Memphis East (7-2) were the difference maker Monday night. Senior point guard <b>Isaiah</b> <b>Cathey</b>, freshman guard <b>Jamarion</b> <b>Harvey</b> and Jacobs took care of the basketball a lot better than the guards for Center Hill. The Mustangs only needed one of those guards to have a solid scoring night, and it was Jacobs with his points. The home Mustangs (9-4) couldn’t find much scoring in their backcourt.</p> <p>Senior guards Braxton Morris and Jacquez Hardin didn’t score a single point. Sophomore point guard Jhamal Ross finished with one point. Senior forward <strong>Decorian</strong> <strong>Payton</strong> (24 points and 16 rebounds) and junior wing <strong>Kaeden</strong> <strong>Laws </strong>(19 points and 10 rebounds) carried the offense for the most part, but without the backcourt producing, there was no way Mealer’s team was going to win this one.</p> <p><strong>Duane Posey did what he was supposed to do</strong></p> <p>The senior forward provided 15 points for Memphis East, even though he was dealing with foul trouble. He had a difficult task trying to slow down Payton. Posey wasn’t able to slow down Center Hill’s best player, but he did go back at him on the offensive end. Posey even crashed the boards and blocked one shot down the stretch.</p> <p><strong>Memphis East knows how to win</strong></p> <p>Memphis East just knows how to win. I know the Mustangs didn’t play well, but the team didn’t waver when Center Hill took a 42-34 lead in the third quarter, a quarter in which Laws caught fire and scored 14 points. The road Mustangs kept playing. Posey scored five straight points, then Jacobs dropped in a short runner to put Memphis East up 43-42 heading into the fourth quarter.</p> <p>After that, the road Mustangs built a 10-point lead midway through the fourth quarter and didn’t look back. Memphis East was without sophomore guard Terrance Jacobs (ankle) and junior guard Jelani Willis. To win on the road without two key players was very impressive.</p>