By Robert Wilson
MADISON – Madison-Ridgeland Academy coach Richard Duease – the winningest basketball coach in Mississippi history, the second winningest active boys basketball coach in the country and a member of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame – believes this Patriot team could be one of the best passing teams in his 51-year coaching career, the last 44 at MRA.
Simpson Academy got a first-hand look at MRA’s passing skills as the Patriots put on a passing clinic, with an assist on each of their eight made shots, which lead to an amazing 18 points in the first four minutes of the game.
That’s a pace of 144 points for a complete game.
MRA didn’t get close to 100 points, but the Patriots continued to pass and play well and rolled to a 75-46 victory over Simpson in a MAIS Class 4A, District 3 game Tuesday night before an estimated 500 at MRA’s Duease Hall.
MRA – ranked No. 3 in Mississippi and No. 1 in MAIS Class 4A by MaxPreps – improved to 22-2 overall and 4-0 in district play. MRA’s only two losses are to MHSAA Class 5A Columbus High, ranked No. 7 in Mississippi, and Zachary High, the No. 1 rated team in Louisiana by MaxPreps.
Simpson – ranked No. 63 in Mississippi and No. 6 in MAIS Class 4A by MaxPreps – dropped to 11-6 overall and 3-1 in district play.
The 73-year-old Duease announced this past summer that this is his final season. The Indianola High, Mississippi Delta Community College and Mississippi State graduate has 1,873 victories (1,281 boys and 592 girls) with 725 losses, a 71.9 winning percentage with 41 state championships and 15 MAIS Overall Tournament titles (13 boys and two girls) in his career. He has won 1,233 boys and 439 girls games at MRA.
Duease probably hasn’t seen many of his teams get off to such a torrid start as the Patriots did Tuesday night. And great passing led to each of the first eight baskets, four consecutive assists by MRA 6-foot-10 sophomore center EJ Damper – the son of former Mississippi State and NBA star and MRA assistant coach Erick Dampier. MRA senior guard Will Bizot scored eight points and had three assists during the scoring spree. Bizot’s assist to senior guard Evan Carr for a layup gave MRA an 18-5 lead with 4 minutes, 15 seconds to play in the first quarter. Many those points were scored when MRA got behind Simpson’s defense for breakaway layups.
MRA led 31-7 after one quarter, 47-25 at halftime, 72-38 after three quarters.
Sophomore guard Caeden Harvey led MRA with 19 points. Dampier – who is rated the No. 3 in the country in the Class of 2028 by ESPN and made second-team freshmen All-American by MaxPreps – and junior guard Jack Dalton had 12 points each and Bizot had nine points.
“I really like this team. It’s one of the best passing teams we’ve had in a long time,” said Duease when he was interviewed pregame by Lee Adams on the MRA Patriots Basketball Network. “They don’t mind sharing the basketball. They do understand that Dampier is an important part of our offense. They don’t mind getting him the ball. I’ve been very pleased. We only have two seniors. We have a bunch of good young players. They are going to be good for a while.
“This was a big game for us because we were both undefeated in the district. We need to win this one tonight. Simpson has a number of good guards who can all shoot it. The leading scorer is Brad Smith’s son (junior guard Toby Smith). Brad was a great player at Mississippi State and assistant coach at Simpson. His son is a great player and a left-hander. He can shoot it and take it the hole. The key for them is they play so hard and they get after you and if you don’t match that intensity, you may lose the game. We’ve got to understand, we are their Super Bowl. They are coming in here to beat us. We’ve got to make sure we step out there in the first three or four minutes of the game, hit them in the mouth and take the lead early.”
“They’re really good,” Simpson coach Josh McNulty said. “I thought my team played hard, but we would had to play at a level we haven’t played at all year to make it a game tonight. They shoot it well, move the ball well, and number 25 (Dampier) is very tough.”
Senior guard Conner Different and sophomore forward Sly McNulty – son of Simpson boys head coach Josh McNulty – led Simpson with 11 points each. Smith had nine points.
