By Robert Wilson
MENDENHALL – Simpson Academy senior forward Chanse Funchess comes from a talented family.
His father – Simpson assistant coach Chaucer Funchess – was a standout football player at Magee High, Copiah-Lincoln Community College and Oklahoma State and a strength and conditioning coach at Southern Miss for 10 years and his uncle – Southern, La., University women’s basketball coach Carlos Funchess – was a high school All-American basketball player at Magee High, played on Louisiana-Monroe’s NCAA Tournament team in the 1990s.
Chanse has been creating his own highlights during his high school career at Simpson and added to his career moments Friday night against MAIS Class 5A, District 2 rival Leake Academy.
The 6-foot-5 Funchess had the go-ahead tip-in with 55 seconds to play and then blocked Leake’s potential game-winning shot at the buzzer for a 42-41 Simpson victory over Leake at Simpson.
Simpson improved to 12-1 overall – its only loss to MAIS Class 6A Madison St. Joseph a week ago – and 5-0 in district play. The Cougars have won 26 of their last 27 home games. Leake dropped to 12-6 overall and 2-2 in district play.
Funchess – who scored a team-high 14 points on 7 of 12 shooting from the field with 12 rebounds, 2 blocked shots and 2 steals Friday – is a four-year starter, played on two state championship teams, has career highs of 35 points, 18 rebounds, 12 blocked shots and hit the 1,250 career points mark this season. He is averaging 14.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.7 steals and 2.5 blocked shots per game and shooting 55 percent from the field.
The 190-pound Funchess is also star wide receiver and defensive back on Simpson’s football team. He has multiple junior college offers in both football and basketball.
“Funchess is the best pure athlete that’s ever been at Simpson,” said Simpson coach Josh McNulty, who was a star football and baseball player at Simpson in the late 1990s. “He’s a playmaker on both ends. Funchess always plays bigger in big games. He can impact the game in so many ways, especially defensively. He can play every position on the floor at our level and plays it well.”
“Funchess is a fantastic athlete,” Leake coach Jason Morgan said. “On the tip-in, we didn’t block him out and he came sailing through the air to make the shot. And then we got a deflection and a steal and a chance to win and he blocked the shot.”
“God allowed me to use my skills, abilities, and mindset to keep competing when we were down,” Funchess said. “He put me in the right position to help my team succeed in late quarters of the game.”
Leake led the entire first half before Simpson rallied to take a 25-24 lead on a Funchess layup with 1 minute to play in the second quarter.
Then Simpson held Leake scoreless for the first four minutes of the third quarter before Leake junior guard Samuel Prince – who scored a game-high 26 points – made a 3-pointer to close the gap to 31-27. Prince hit back to back 3-pointers, the last one with 2:45 to play in the game for a 41-40 Leake lead – its first lead in the second half.
Leake had the lead and the ball but had a turnover with 1:13 to play, giving Simpson a chance. After a missed shot, Funchess made his game-winning play with 55 seconds to play. Leake called timeout to set up the winning play with 20.2 seconds to go. Leake missed a 3-pointer, got the rebound and missed another shot. Simpson senior guard Gage Smith – son of former All-State Mendenhall High and Mississippi State guard and current Simpson assistant coach Brad Smith – got the rebound with 3.9 seconds to play.
After a timeout, Leake senior guard Matthew Nowell deflected the inbounds pass, and Eli Cantrell picked put the loose ball in the lane, but his potential game-winning shot was blocked by Funchess.
“Leake and Simpson have always been rivals, and the games are always hard fought,” said McNulty, who has a 53-8 record in his third season at Simpson. “They have a great team. I’m glad we made enough plays to pull out th victory. I’m really proud of my team. We don’t typically play many games in the 40s, but we were still able to find a way to win.”
“This was a very competitive game and that’s what we except when these two teams get together,” Morgan said. “It was a great round one. We are going to see each other maybe three or four times this season (the next meeting is Jan. 21 at Leake). And each game will probably be a tight one. It is a war every year, but these games are a lot of fun.”
