By Robert Wilson
Leake Academy senior guard Samuel Prince scored a career-high and school record 53 points in a 74-54 victory over Pillow Academy Thursday night, the most points by a Mississippi high school boys basketball player this season.
Prince’s total is the most points by a Mississippi boys player since Delta Streets Academy’s JT Lawrence scored 54 points in an 85-48 victory over Central Holmes Christian School in November, 2020, according to MaxPreps.
Prince’s performance is the eighth most points in a game by a MAIS boys player in Mississippi history.
Columbia Academy’s Kent Williamson scored 59 points in 1987, Victory Christian Academy’s Scarbrough scored 58 points in 2016, Williamson scored 55 in 1989, Manchester Academy’s Joseph Nickels scored 55 points in 1996, East Rankin Academy’s Ken Coghlan scored 54 points in 1979, Brookhaven Academy’s Chris Thurman scored 54 points in 1989, and Lawrence.
The Mississippi record is 78 points by Max “Shorty” Palmer from Walnut in 1947. The modern day mark is held by former NBA star Monta Ellis, who scored 72 points for Lanier in 2005.
Prince’s total broke the school record of 49 points set by Wesley Webb.
Only one other high school player in the country this season – Josh Whitt of Lancaster Christian, South Dakota, – has scored more in a game than Prince, according to Luckyshow.org. Whitt has had games of 57 points and 54 points this season.
Samuel Prince scored 17 points in the first quarter, 17 in the second quarter, 7 in the third quarter, and 12 in the fourth quarter. He made 23 of 34 shots from the field, 3 of 5 from 3-point range, 4 of 8 from the free throw line, and had 19 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots. Samuel played every minute in the first three quarters and sat out three minutes in the fourth quarter.
Prince – who has offers from East Central Community College and Northwest Mississippi Community College – is averaging 37.3 points per game and has scored 2,644 career points. He is second in the career school scoring record behind Alex Shepard, who had 3,260 career points.
Prince is on pace to break the school record for best scoring average in a season, set by his father, Philip, 27.8 points per game during the 1992-93 season. Samuel Prince averaged 21.7 points last year as a junior.
“I had no idea (how many points Samuel had),” fourth-year Leake coach Jason Morgan said. “I have no assistant, and no parents or kids or anyone came and told me at any point that he was getting close, tied it, broke it, or anything. I found out in the parking lot after the game. That’s the kind of kid Samuel is. Even if he knew, he never said a word. We were just playing the game like normal. He played when he played, and when the game was in hand, he came out. I had zero clue about any of it. Haven’t actually talked to him about it since it happened, either.
“Samuel is having a special season no doubt. As for his team, they are following his lead and responding to any and all adversity that gets thrown our way. If Samuel only gets to play half of a game, I never hear a word. If he has to play all 32 minutes (did that one night this year already), he is a gamer and does what he is asked to do. The kid loves the game, and the kid loves our program.
“Samuel is a good student and campus leader on top of that. I have no one more active in FCA and no one more active in community ministry. Whether he realizes it or not, he is really working hard to lay the groundwork for when he is gone in our program as far as basketball and on our campus as far as ministry. He serves others, invests in others, and genuinely cares about others. He’s a very humble young man. I’m excited to see what God allows him to do the rest of the way. He is special.”
“I was able to score a lot of different ways,” Prince said. “They kept changing up the defense from 2-3, 1-3-1 and some man. I scored the majority of my points at the rim though. My coach was able to put me in good positions to make plays. He wanted a fast paced game, so I pushed the break every possible chance. I grabbled offensive boards and put them back for points. Against the zone, I made floaters and mid-range shots. The team did a great job of executing the zone offense. I hit a few threes and free throws also.”
Leake is off to a 9-1 start and plays host to defending MAIS Overall Tournament champion Jackson Prep Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in Madden.
Prince is the son of Valeria and Philip Prince. Valeria is a graduate of Newton County Academy, East Central CC and Ole Miss. In addition to playing basketball at Leake, Philip played at East Central CC and Southern Miss. Prince’s oldest sister Miriam played at Leake and was the MAIS Class 5A Player of the Year as a junior, and won two state titles and one Overall Tournament title. She also played at East Central CC and Louisiana-Monroe and is now playing for Southern Miss. Prince’s youngest sister, Sarah, is a freshman on Leake’s basketball team. Prince’s brother, Andrew, is a sixth grader at Leake and plays basketball and football.
