BOONEVILLE, Miss. - Tyler Byrd has made himself right at home inside the confines of legendary Bonner Arnold Coliseum.
Byrd produced his second consecutive 23-point game to begin the season for the Northeast Mississippi Community College men's basketball team in its 86-68 win over Arkansas State University Mid-South on Tuesday, November 7.
The freshman from Memphis, Tenn., made 9 of 14 field goal attempts and 4 of 5 free throws to become the leading scorer in the game. He also tied CJ Williams for a team-best six rebounds.
"Our coaches have gotten on me about what I should be doing on-and-off the court and it's just transferring over to the games," said Byrd. "When you put that work in, great things come out."
The Tigers and Greyhounds, who are both receiving votes in the preseason National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) rankings in their respective divisions, engaged in a back-and-forth opening half that featured 11 lead changes.
Northeast (2-0) used a 7-0 run in the closing moments of the period to take the lead for good. Byrd had five points in that stretch while Louzavious Thomas made a layup that was assisted by Caleb Parr.
The Tigers quickly built on their 38-36 halftime advantage by scoring on five of their first six possessions of the second half. Allen Hughes had four points, including a steal and breakaway dunk, in that stretch.
A free throw by Thomas pushed Northeast ahead by double figures for the first time at 49-39 with 14:08 remaining in the contest. The Tigers added eight points in a row shortly after that with Ronnie Ellis and Hughes draining back-to-back treys.
Northeast used another spurt of 10-2 to pull away from Arkansas State Mid-South (1-2). Byrd accounted for the final five of those points to give the Tigers their largest lead of the evening at 77-56 at the 4:47 mark.
"In the first half, I thought we were playing well. They made a lot of tough shots," Northeast head coach Cord Wright said. "I thought we did a lot better job in the second half and were a little more aggressive. We just needed to get a couple of stops defensively."
Four other Tigers joined Byrd in double-digits, including Hughes and Byrd. The sophomore tandem combined for 26 points, 11 assists, six rebounds and only two turnovers in the victorious effort.
Thomas posted 12 points in his official Northeast debut while Holman added 11 points in the post. The Tigers shot 52.5 percent from the floor overall on the strength of 42 points in the paint.
Northeast continues its season-opening homestand by hosting the inaugural Bonner Arnold Classic from November 10-11. The Tigers play Baton Rouge (La.) Post Graduate Academy on Friday at 7:30 p.m. before meeting Dyersburg State (Tenn.) Community College for a 5 p.m. Saturday matinee.