Choctaw claims second straight district title against Crestview

FORT WALTON BEACH — When Andy Thigpen broke down the Indians' huddle after practice Thursday, he told them to go home and dream about what they wanted to accomplish Friday night.

On the eve of the District 2-7A championship game, the Indians coach told his players to dream of defense. Of rebounding and chasing down loose balls. Of executing.

But in Josh Williams’ wildest dreams, the Choctaw senior guard couldn’t have envisioned such complete performance. Choctaw beat rival Crestview 73-55 on Friday night in front of packed house at the TeePee, claiming a second straight district title in the process and securing homecourt advantage in the opening rounds of the playoffs.

“We came into this game and executed every play,” Williams said. “I’m extremely proud of my team.”

Winners of five straight, Choctaw (22-4 overall, 3-1 District 2-7A) led by 22 at the half and by 30 midway through the fourth quarter.

“It’s just good to win,” Thigpen said. “The guys played hard tonight. They finally picked it up on defense and everybody played their role, and I’m just really proud of ’em.”

The Indians’ dream performance, however, was Crestview’s nightmare. The Bulldogs (21-6, 3-2) were flat from beginning to end, falling behind 18-5 in the first six minutes of the game, their only points coming on a Marcus Purcell 3-pointer and later Purcell’s acrobatic spinning layup. The senior would finish with a team-high 16 points.

“As bad as we could have possibly played is how we played,” Crestview coach Greg Watson said. “We tried to force too much. We had too much one-on-one. Instead of doing what we really needed to do to make a game of it — I really don’t think we’ve played worse all year.”

The Bulldogs’ chances didn’t improve any in the second quarter when Choctaw opened on a 10-3 run, Williams scoring six of his team-high 19 points with aggressive plays at the basket and crafty finishes.

Williams also finished with six assists and five steals. Senior forward Diante Smith, a TCU commit, had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Torrion McGowan stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, five steals and seven rebounds, and junior C.J. Matthews had 12 points and four rebounds.

“Everybody is stepping up right now and doing big things,” Thigpen said. “Our overall goal is to win. We don’t care who scores, and the kids have bought in to the game of rebounds and playing hard on defense and getting to loose balls, and I’m just extremely proud of them.”

Friday’s contest served as a revenge game of sorts. Crestview owns the distinction of being the last team to beat the Indians, winning 73-61 on Jan. 25. It was the second victory in their season-long nine-game win streak.

It was also a wakeup call for Choctaw, last year’s 7A state championship runner-up.

“I feel like we came into that Crestview game with a big head, thinking we were gonna win it,” Williams said. “After that game, me and Diante, as leaders of this team, we told ’em we needed to settle down because my sophomore year, we had the same mentality. Our heads got too big and we lost the Sweet 16 to Vanguard.”

Williams plans to make sure those same mistakes don’t repeat themselves this year. He wants to go back to Lakeland this March, and he wants to cut down the nets this time.

“Going into the playoffs our record’s 0-0,” he said. “No wins. No losses. I feel like we gotta come in to every game locked in.”

Choctaw will host the loser of Saturday’s District 1-7A championship when the Region 1-7A playoffs begin Thursday night. Crestview, meanwhile, will travel to play the District 1 champions.

“It’s gonna be tough,” Watson said. “It’s gonna be on the road … Can we do it? Absolutely. But we’re gonna have to play a lot better than we did tonight.”

Said Thigpen: ““We got goals. Each game’s gonna be a goal for us, and we just have to key in for what we want to do for that gameplan. The kids worked hard these last two weeks in practice to make some adjustments. Hopefully we can keep things going in the right direction.

“We still have a lot to prove.”