By Robert Wilson
Jackson Public Schools has a rich tradition of great boys basketball programs with Lanier, Callaway, Murrah, Provine and Forest Hill bringing home numerous state championships and featuring many high school All-Americans over the years.
And for the first time in history, a JPS school hosted a MAIS school in a regular season basketball game.
Defending MAIS Overall Tournament and Class 6A state champion Jackson Academy defeated MHSAA Class 5A Callaway 71-34 Tuesday night before an estimated 200 at Callaway’s gym.
JA improved to 6-1 this season and bounced back from a 55-48 loss Saturday to undefeated Huntsville, Ala., ranked No. 31 in the country by MaxPreps, in the Lighthouse Classic at Corinth. The Raiders had won 27 consecutive games, 22 last year and five this year. Callaway dropped to 4-5.
The Raiders’ defense was the story Tuesday as they created 27 Callaway turnovers and limited the Chargers to no 3-pointers in 10 attempts. Callaway, which scored a season-high 91 points in a one-point loss to Lanier earlier this season, only had 23 points after three quarters when JA took its starters out of the game. The Chargers’ 41 points was the lowest of the season. Callaway had scored at least 54 points in every game this year.
JA, which led the entire game and by as much as 34 points at the end of the third quarter, had 17 steals and 33 points off turnovers.
“We knew going into this game against Callaway that we were playing a well-coached and talented group,” JA coach Jesse Taylor said. “Callaway is one of the cornerstone basketball programs in Jackson history. My fear going into the game is that we would have a slow start since our team has traveled so much over Thanksgiving break (to Gulfport for two games and to Corinth for one game). Our guys rallied defensively at the end of the second quarter and most of the third. I was impressed with our effort knowing we were fighting fatigue and coming off a tough loss from our game against Huntsville in the Lighthouse Classic. Our group is showing extreme resilience and competitiveness by playing for the guy next to him.
“Our defense creates our offense. That’s something we have preached to our team from day one. We want our opponents to know that when they play Jackson Academy, they are going to play a team that has one guy guarding the ball and four guys helping him the entire game.”
Senior point guard and Mississippi College commitment Caleb Gaitor led four JA players in double figures with 17 points, 3 assists and 3 steals. Junior guard Marcus Goodloe had 12 points, junior forward Tyler Lyles had 11 points, 3 assists and 3 steals and senior guard Schyler Chambers 10 points and seven rebounds. Austin Richards – a 6-foot-6 sophomore forward, Lanier transfer and son of former Mendenhall High and Southern. Miss star Anthony Richards – had 11 rebounds.
“It wasn’t hard to bounce back at all,” Gaitor said. “We knew going into the Huntsville game that it would be a challenge, especially since they are such a talented team and ranked No. 31 in the nation. We knew after the game that we hung with them really well and so rather than looking at it as a loss, we looked at it as we can hang with the best of them. For the Callaway game, we knew it would be a different atmosphere and their guards were good so in order to win we knew we needed to match the toughness and win the rebounding battle. I liked being able to play in Callaway’s gym, it was inspiring to see all the legends jerseys hanging on the walls.”
“Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn,” second-year Callaway coach Joshua “Skip” Harvey said. “Losing is never easy, but what stings the most is knowing we didn’t give our best effort or show the discipline required to win or even compete last night. Basketball demands focus, commitment, and unity – things we fell short on. I pray this loss is a wakeup call, not only for myself but the program as a whole. It is a reminder that talent along isn’t enough. Moving forward, we need to hold ourselves accountable, push harder, and bring the discipline and energy that the game and our team deserve. We owe it to ourselves, each other, and our supporters to do better – and we will.”
Senior guard Javarion Mallard – a member of the Tatum and Wade/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Preseason Elite 11 Team – led Callaway with 15 points and three assists.
Callaway’s gym shows how successful its basketball program has been. The Chargers have won eight state boys basketball championships and have had many All Americans like Malik Newman, Deville Smith, and Daeshun Ruffin. Newman, Smith, Ruffin and Mario Bland (who once held the career scoring record and played in the 1990s) have their jerseys retired and are on the wall at Callaway’s gym. Many other Callaway greats like Eddie Archie in the 1970s, Anthony Jackson, Darrin Chancellor, Herman Veal and Aaron Brandon in the 1980s played in this gym and were a part of many outstanding teams.
And maybe the greatest Callaway team of all time was the first state championship team during the 1972-73 season. Coached by the late Bobby Ray (who won 301 games in 15 seasons), Callaway won 42 games and lost only three and was led by George White, Marcella Singleton (father of former Lanier All-American and NBA star Monta Ellis), and Karminder Dhaliwal.
Former Jackson State coach Wayne Brent coached Callaway to four state titles, and current Copiah-Lincoln Community College coach David Sanders coached Callaway three state titles, the last one in 2020 with Ruffin.
“It was great being in a gym that has such a rich basketball history,” Taylor said. “Looking up at some of the pictures on their past teams made you understand the great basketball players and coaches that have been in that gym. Coaches such as Wayne Brent and David Sanders. Players such as Malik Newman, Daeshaun Ruffin, and Deville Smith. It was an honor playing at Callaway. Our team made Raider Nation proud.”
JA’s next game is on the road at MHSAA Class 3A South Pike and plays Hoover, Ala., High, the No. 11 ranked team in the country by MaxPreps, Dec. 14 in the 10th annual Tangle on the Trail in Pontotoc.
CALLAWAY GIRLS 61, JA 47
Jahanna Wilson, a senior guard and a member of the Preseason Elite 11 Team, had 20 points, 4 3-pointers, 3 assists and 3 steals and 6-foot junior forward Shelbie Walker had 12 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Lady Chargers.
MHSAA Class 5A Callaway improved to 7-1, its only loss to 2024 MHSAA Class 3A state runner-up Booneville. MAIS Class 6A JA dropped to 6-3 and broke a four-game winning streak.
“The team’s success hinged on working together, emphasizing unselfish play and cohesive communication on both ends of the court,” said fourth-year Callaway coach Ashli Sutton, the 2023 PriorityOne Bank/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Coach of the Year after leading her team to a huge turnaround season and finished with 27 wins and a 5A state runner-up finish. “By limiting turnovers and making smarter decisions, they maintained control and minimized wasted opportunities. Each player embraced their role, contributing efficiently to the collective effort and keeping the team focused on the game plan. Big shoutout to Jahanna Wilson for shooting well (8 of 14) and giving us a spark to start the game and shooting phenomenal behind the arc (4 of 10). Most pleased with Shelbie Walker back in her groove, dominating the glass.”
Sutton comes from an athletic family. Her dad, Arthur Sutton, played football at Forest Hill and Jackson State. Her uncle Frank Sutton played football and basketball at Forest Hill, football at Jackson State and for the New England Patriots and New York Giants in the NFL. Her uncle Joe Coleman was the Mississippi Boys Basketball Player of the Year at Forest Hill and played at Ole Miss. Her uncle Mark was an All-State basketball player at Forest Hill and played at Mississippi Valley. Her aunt Harriet Sutton played basketball at Lanier and Jackson State. Her aunt Doris Sutton played basketball at Forest Hill and Jackson State.
Sutton was going up against one of the best coaches in Mississippi history in JA coach Jan Sojourner, who is third in career girls basketball victories in Mississippi history. Sojourner, who is in her final season of coaching, won her 1,039th game in her 45-year career with 933 wins, 10 state titles and 6 Overall championships in 40 seasons at JA.
Sojourner was impressed by the history in the gym. Former high school All-American Juanita Ward, considered one of the top players in Mississippi history, has her jersey retired among all the boys players.
“When you walk into this gym, you can tell there are some big-time players who have played in this gym and if these walls could talk, they could tell some good stories,” said Sojourner an interview with Bryan Eubank on the Raider Network. “I emphasized to my girls that it is so important to make shots. And the only way to get better at shooting is to spend time in the gym. I can promise you, there are a couple of girls who play for Callaway that they have spent lots of time in the gym. I’m talking about after their practices, they will spend time shooting. That’s what it takes. It is such a skilled sport. It takes being in the gym. I was really pleased at the way our girls ended the game. They could have easily run up and down the floor and that be it, but I was pleased with our second half. We beat them in the second half by four points. I asked the girls to come out of halftime and let’s make a game of it. We watched Jahanna on film and one thing we talked about was keep her out of the paint. We did a great job keeping her out of the paint, but she lit us up from 3. If you get up and try to guard her a little bit she is going to blow past you. If you back off her and go under screens, she’s going to knock down 3s. She had a great game. The first quarter killed us, trying to get used to their quickness. This is the quickest team we will see all year.”
JA junior guard Jayden Rhymes had 14 points and five assists. Senior forward Belle Shoemaker had nine rebounds. Junior guard Ella King and sophomore forward Myles Maurer had three assists.
